


Useless

by etherealst



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 16:28:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 61
Words: 144,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30125643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etherealst/pseuds/etherealst
Summary: In a world where witches and wizards can only see colour once they know who their soulmate is, both Eden Abella and Draco Malfoy could see colour, but after the tragic Battle of Hogwarts when both their partners died, they are faced with the challenge of having to find out who their new soulmate is while also being under the control of The Dark Lord...
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Character(s), Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my name is Julia! 
> 
> Before you begin this book I would just like to thank you for even giving it a chance. It means a lot to me!
> 
> Now I would just like to throw out there that I completely acknowledge that most of these characters are not mine aside from OC's that I have created for the sake of this book and none of the spells belong to me either, they all belong to JK Rowling.
> 
> Just a small TW, this book does contain mentions of self-harm, violence and mature themes.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy! <3

One year and a half...

All that time and she was still on the run.

From whom? She had not the slightest clue. Logically you would think from the Dark Lord, but no. Sure the people after her were sent from him, but she could never tell who she had to fear or look out for.

It wasn't like she hadn't been caught before, she was just smart and strong. Most of the time she could over power them. Throw them to the floor and kill them like it was not even a challenge, but she knew one day she was going to run into someone stronger than her. Someone so powerful that she would not be able to take on.

She remembered seeing her face on the Daily Prophet. It had fallen on the floor, on it was a picture of her with big text right above and below it. 'WANTED!' The rewards started off low, maybe 15 galleons to start, but it began to go up until it was almost 1000 gold galleons just for the girl.

It wasn't hard to hide and she had become accustomed to all the filthy living conditions she had to live through in order to survive.

Who she was? Eden Abella, aged 18, technically 19 since today was in fact her birthday. She was a pretty petite skinny girl. She stood at a whopping 5'3", but that didn't mean she was weak. She knew how to fight and if she was put in a situation where there were 3 large, physically strong wizards she would still be able to win.

Her secret was confidence. It would never matter how much bigger you are than a person. It did in fact matter how strong you were in casting your spells. Showing confidence and not worrying about size differences came in handy almost 100% of the time.

"Eden!" She heard a whisper causing her head to whirl around as she sat in the very back of an old pub's kitchen, isolated from the rest of the wizards and witches, not that there were many in this disgusting place anyway.

It was run down, had water leaking from the ceiling and smelled awful. There was definitely some sort of animal problem here because it reeked of rotting, dead, flesh that was decaying every second she sat there.

She stood from the wooden stool and placed her feet flat down onto the ground, hands going behind her back as she stuck her head around the corner of the shelf to see the lovely owner of this horrible place.

Just because the place was bad did not mean that the owner was the same.

Florence. That was her name. The old lady had given Eden food after helping her fight off a death eater sent by the Dark Lord. It was one of her first nights hiding. She was scared and lonely and felt sick to her stomach from the lack of food and water. Instead of leaving the already weak Eden to starve to death on the floor of the back alley, she took her inside, gave her some food, water, a change of clothes and a place to stay for the night. Ever since then Eden had come for resources and to just check in on the old lady in general.

She was reaching her final years, but she was indeed a great wizard. Helped heal Eden right back up the time she had almost died at the hands of a Death Eater.

Eden had Florence to thank for teaching her the incredible duelling skills she knew and used to this day, 16 whole months later.

As she peeked around the corner her eyes were met with the kind lady holding a plate of food consisting of fries, salad and half a chicken wing. She was thankful for anything she got and the half eaten chicken wing would be the least of her worries in a few minutes time.

"Hi."

"There you are! I've got you some leftovers. I thought you might like the fries, chicken, they'll fill you up enough to where you'll be alright for the couple of days you're gone."

Eden quietly walked over to the old lady and grabbed the plate out of her hands. As she looked down at the food, her stomach was practically begging for her to shove it all down her throat and call it a day, but she contained her excitement and pushed it to the back of her mind, far enough to the point she had forgotten about the thought completely.

"Thank you so much Florence. Is there anything I could possibly do to make it up to you? I could clean after everyone is gone and- and..." That one thing was possibly the only thing she could have done to make it up to her.

The woman shook her head and put a hand on her hip, moving her weight to one side completely. "Of course not you silly girl. You being caught is the last thing I would want and if you help me out after hours... I just would not like to take any risks. You've come so far to be caught now. Say how have you been? Where are you living now?"

"The Weasley twins abandoned joke shop... Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes I think it's called? To my surprise, abandoned shops are the last place they're looking for me. I think I'm going to really survive if I keep hiding there. Not only is it a good shelter, but it reminds me of him. Of Harry..."

Oh Harry Potter, how much Eden missed him, his touch, his kisses, his love, his presence, even the warm feeling she was filled with every time she walked into his room. It pained her just to think about the moment her colour began to fade. It had not gone completely, but it was definitely dull. Everything now seemed too cold for her liking and she missed seeing such beautiful colours. Now everywhere she turned made her upset. She was looking at things that used to have to much value to her, which now just made her extremely upset and angry not only with herself but with the world.

Perhaps it was her pent up rage that helped her stay alive, but one thing was for sure. She had done good so far and if she died without finding another soulmate she would be just as happy. No one would ever come close to how Harry made her feel.

No one.

"Oh no hun. Don't bring yourself down. Listen I'm going to come back here in just a few minutes, we're going to eat together you and I. Just let me clear everyone out of here." Florence turned on her heel before Eden could even get a word in and she was now left standing there with her hands in front of her, holding the plate of food she was so excited to eat up.

Her legs were beginning to grow tired and the girl made her way back to the wooden stool and sat down on it, placing her food down onto the counter beside her, which probably wasn't even sanitary, but she didn't worry too much about it.


	2. Chapter 2

Being left alone in this scary kitchen gave Eden the creeps. Not only were the lights flickering and dying out, but she could barely hear anything. She felt like she was in a cell when she was left alone in here and that was saying something because places like this never really scared her considering she was left to stay in them all of the time.

The chatter of happy wizards and witches from the main room suddenly came to a halt and Eden could have sworn she heard a few gasps and small, faint shrieks. When she heard the next few words her heart stopped and she stood from the stool quickly.

"We know Eden Abella is here. If you would like to give her up and surrender her to us now, please do so. Otherwise, we have the right to tear this establishment to pieces until we find her on our own."

Running would be stupid, they probably had the place surrounded as they spoke, but staying could cost the girl her very own freedom...

While weighing out the possibilities in her head, Eden's heart began to race and she hadn't noticed but her breathing was becoming more frequent as if she was gasping for air with each breath she took.

The message was slowly becoming clear to her.

She either needed to surrender herself or Florence could have gotten into extreme trouble. She had already lost so many important people in her life and she didn't want to lose another because of something stupid that she could have solved.

She looked back at the food left on the counter and grabbed a handful of the fries just to shove them into her mouth since that would probably be the last time she had some enjoyable, delicious food.

Eden took hesitant steps toward the door, she could not even believe that she, Eden Abella, was going to be sacrificing herself to save someone else right now.

After everything she had done and after everything she had accomplished. This was where it all ended. She tried to convince herself that she was doing this for a good cause, helping someone she loved and by the time she got to the doorway it was set in her mind.

"I'm right here."

Everyone's heads turned, some even putting their hands to their mouths in shock, as if they actually gave a shit.

The man in the room was tall, way taller then her and she was indeed intimidated by him on first glance. She put her hands up and stepped out a tiny bit more, eye narrowing to his lips where the man, who hid behind a mask which covered the upper portion of his face, smirked.

"There she is... Eden." The deep tone of his voice felt like it rumbled the room or at least Eden because she felt shaky, though that could have just been because she was scared. Worried about the future to come now that she had just given up everything.

Two men suddenly grabbed her upper arms tightly, making her yelp from the unexpected pain that coursed through her and from the corner of her eye she could see Florence shift in discomfort and wipe her forehead out of stress while everyone else in the room watched this all unfold before their eyes.

"16 months, 4 days and 7 minutes later and we've finally found you." The man pressed his wand under her chin applying minimal pressure to it and looking over her. "You've cleaned up quite nicely hmm? Taking into consideration you've been living in a dump... You two, take her out of here, get her to the Dark Lord. I'm sure he would like to examine her, get some background on her before he does as he pleases with her. Not like theirs anything special anyway." The wand dragged out from under her chin and the man's face turned from a smirk to a snarl.

She tried to conjure up any power she could get, but whenever it hit her hands it would just die out... The Death Eaters behind her were stripping her powers...

For Eden this felt more embarrassing than anything. Being lectured about herself by a bunch of grown men who looked to be at least 10 years older then her? How sexist and gross. She knew after the battle men built their way back to the top, but she didn't realize how bad it really was since she hadn't been around many people. Part of being isolated was not knowing the new ways of living and she learned that quite quickly.

"Eden!" Florence exclaimed while covering her eyes. She couldn't bear to watch her be in such pain while being dragged out so forcefully by the men of the law.

Swiftly, her head turned and with tears in her eyes, she smiled at her mentor, her friend, basically her family at this point. It hurt Eden to see her be in such distress over someone like herself. This wouldn't be the last time she saw Florence and deep down she knew that.

The girl was confident she would escape no matter what, but she understood why the woman was so upset.

For her this must have felt like Eden was being taken to be isolated, tortured and most likely killed, which Eden knew was a possibility, but she was determined not to go down without a fight. Little did Florence know how much she really did teach Eden in the end.

The men dragged her through the back where they had come from. The wooden door was fully off of the hinges which Eden noticed as they dragged her along. She tried to wiggle and squirm her way out just in case she could have made a run for it, but she realized that these people were not like the others who had tried to capture her in the past... They were stronger, more powerful and way more experienced wizards.

She wasn't going to be getting out of this situation this time. No way.

The rain falling from the pitch black and cloudy sky just made this feel even more real. This was the last bit of nature she was going to see, the last bit of rain she was going to feel and the last taste of freedom she was going to get.

This feeling she had... It felt like her life was crumbling to the floor in front of her.

"Crucio!" One of them exclaimed, while the other let her fall to the hard, wet ground in pain. She could barely move, but tried to hold herself in her arms. Her hands were shaking and the scream she let out was enough for the whole town to hear. This was some of the worst pain she had ever felt and it didn't seem to be stopping soon.

They needed her weak. Weak enough to have control over her and that's exactly what they were getting. She felt her body cramp up and it felt like a knife was being stabbed in and out of her over and over again until tears streamed down her face and she shouted in agony.

Someone passing by would have thought she was actually being stabbed to death in the back alley.

The spell suddenly stopped and so did her screams, but the tears were still there, running down her cheeks like a flowing river. Who cared if she let it all out now, she was as good as dead anyway.

"Not so cocky now are you?" The man that was once holding her asked while he pushed her hair roughly out of her face to see the tears rolling down her cheeks for himself, like it gave him some sort of amusement to see her in so much pain.

Being picked up, Eden was thrown into the back of a carriage and locked in there behind a metal door with a few bars covering the small rectangle which was used to look into the cell at the person inside of it. Though, it wasn't like she was going anywhere anyway. Not too long after she was thrown into the cell her body began to fail her and her vision became blurry until she was left in complete darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Everything sounded echoed. Every word that was said by anyone near Eden was unintelligible and she couldn't connect who's voice belonged who anymore. Her mind was blank, she didn't have a thought in her mind. It was all empty.

It was only when she began to come to, waking up from the sleep she had just been in that she realized she had no more control. Her hands were tied down to the metal platform she laid on, being rolled from room to room for hours. That was the only thing she could gather before really waking up and opening her eyes.

The room she was in then was dark, but extremely big. When looking from side to side she could see old bricks lining the walls but the light hanging right above her made it hard for her to see past it for a look at the ceiling.

Aside from that it smelled like dust in a way... She couldn't describe it but she knew that wherever she was was not a safe place in the slightest no matter how new or old it was.

The dark magic was extremely prominent.

Her hearing was beginning to sharpen to it's normal state once again and the faint noises of rustling paper came from somewhere above her head. Eden really did try to look up and find out who or what for that matter, was causing the ruckus, but she was still soar and in pain and couldn't move her head in that direction just yet.

Heels clicking against the floor is what gave it away. There was a woman sitting in that chair, impatiently tapping her heel against the floor, that was until she rolled the chair over and looked at Eden who now laid awake under the harsh bright light.

"Finally!"

She was ginger, the girl who had been sitting in the chair. Big eyes, plump lips. She didn't look like she was someone important, but neither did Voldemort and look at him now.

"I'm going to make this short and brief since the Dark Lord is looking so forward to meeting with you... It's quite simple. I ask you questions, you answer truthfully. Do you understand?"

The Dark Lord?!

Where was she right now?

Who were these people?

Her arms were tensing up in the leather bonds that held her to the table and her nerves were only becoming worse the more time passed. She was left to lay there and let this all sink in and there was nothing she could do about it seeing as the state she was in was not one to be casting extreme spells and she no longer had her wand anyway. Without that she was just a joke compared to the highly trained guards and workers of this place.

Another thing preventing her from casting the spells she wished to cast were the bonds which were connected to the table. They must have been magically cursed because even thought most of her body felt extremely numb and weak, she could feel the power radiating from them. It was bad power with bad energy and immediately she knew that it was highly likely that the things holding her down didn't just act as something to keep her in place, but something to prevent her from using magic and getting herself out of this situation.

"Y- Yes..." Eden's voice trembled and she didn't even realize it until the words had left her mouth.

How come she was like this?

What made her this way?

Had these whacked out people really done so much damage to her on the first round. If that was the case she didn't stand a chance now.

"What is your full name?"

She had originally debated on whether or not she should have even opened her mouth to speak to this unknown, intimidating lady, but she decided against it.

It would only cause more trouble and harm to her and she honestly did not know if she could take anymore of it. The pain she was feeling already was excruciating, but imagine piling it up 100x more. If the spells didn't kill her her body would have just shut down itself anyway.

"Eden Abella."

"Great." With a quill, the lady laid her notepad on her lap and began take note of not only what Eden said, but her body language and the way she was speaking. The way she squinted her eyes every time she moved, or at least tried to move, any part of her body and how conscious she was in that very moment. If she was aware of her surroundings, if she looked confused or upset. Everything Eden was doing was being recorded down onto that notepad. "What school did you attend from ages 11 through 17?"

"H-Hogwarts."

Again the lady went back to writing as Eden stared up into the light as it was the only thing she could really look at in that exact moment. "What about your step-parents? What were their names?"

"Were?" Eden mumbled and got a little to worked up as a wave of pain struck her making her relax once again. "What do you mean were? They're still alive-"

"What were their names Eden?"

"George and Lillian."

The answer to her question would be a mystery despite her teary eyes and painfully worried look.

The lady moved on, leaving Eden confused and worried for her parents lives. Even if they were dead, Eden thought that she would have the right to know how and why, but it seemed that she wasn't going to be finding out anytime soon at the rate she was heading.

"...And last question for you. Who was your previous soulmate?"

"Harry Potter."

The way the lady cringed at his name being said enraged Eden and tears began to fall down her face though she hadn't realized that they were. Whether it was from all of the stress or anger she was feeling, she had no control over herself anymore. Everything she said or did next would be a result of her impulsiveness.

Thankfully for the ginger haired lady taking down notes, she backed away and rolled her way back over to where she was before, which Eden assumed was a desk or table full of papers and documents, maybe even a lamp or two to give her some light since the room was so extremely dim.

From the corner of her eye she watched the lady walk to the door and yell something she really could not understand as it echoed through the large room and the next thing she knew two men were rolling her out of the room and down a long, fancy, elegant hallway.

It was clear that she was somewhere extremely rich. Somewhere that whoever owned this place had a lot of money and power, which would make sense since the Dark Lord was the one who supposedly owned the place.

Eden realized that her vision was still kind of blurry and messed up and the reason why it did not seem that way in the room she was just previously in was because she was being blinded by the light anyway and the rest of the room was dark.

It seemed to still be dark outside or at least that was what she gathered from passing by the large windows.

The place seemed cold, not only presence wise but feeling wise too. It gave her the worst vibes. Everything was dark, everything felt horrible and everything belonged to the Dark Lord.


	4. Chapter 4

"There she is. Eden Abella..."

She didn't even bother turning her head. Just by his all too familiar voice she knew who he was.

That stupid fucking nasty ass voice.

It was the last one she had heard that day in the Hogwarts courtyard and it stuck with her ever since.

Voldemort.

"Say hello. Don't be coarse Miss Abella. You're going to find we have a lot of time to spend together."

There came the waterworks once more, running down her cheeks as the men stopped pushing her and walked out of the room, leaving her stuck in there with this monster after shutting the doors.

Eden had no clue what this room was. It was big like the one she was just previously in with that lady, but this one had windows...

It felt almost like an empty cathedral or church for better words and it smelled something like the fresh smell of rain, but that was probably because it was raining outside. What else did she expect?

Again this room was very dim and dark, but when he came into view, she could see him clearly. Say, this was the closest she had ever been to him because even during the battle just those few months ago, Harry would not allow her to go near him and in the end that rule he set in place saved her life. If she were with Harry she would have been a goner too, but she was beginning to think that's not what the Dark Lord would have wanted anyway.

His reaction to her being wheeled in was not one of anger or annoyance, it was almost as if he was happy to see her or maybe even amused?

"My, you've been keeping yourself very well." Moving his hand to her cheek he caressed it with his knuckles as she looked into his red, devilish eyes. All the emotion drained from her and her face went pale.

Eden had never felt more fearful in her whole life and that was saying something because she literally attended Hogwarts of all places... One of the most chaotic schools around not to mention her soulmate is the 'chosen one' and her friends were Hermione Granger and most of the Weasley family. "How have you done this? Who was helping you?"

Her lips were sealed, she wasn't going to be saying a word especially to him, though she knew she would face consequences in doing so.

It was known that Voldemort was a Legilimens, but little did Eden know how strong he really was. As soon as she dove into her mind, a painfully awful, sharp pain rang through her head creating a massive aching feeling and in turn, she yelped out in pain despite all of her efforts to keep her mouth shut and put on a tough front.

With the little Occlumency practice she received while at Hogwarts, she tried blocking her mind off. Florence was the last thing she wanted him to find out about, but she was already too weak and even if she was at full strength to preform it properly he still would have overpowered her.

"STOP! P-PLEASE STOP!" She screamed as her hands balled into fists, pulling at the restrains holding her down.

Not only was she just crying... No, the poor girl was sobbing now. She was only 19 after all. She wasn't prepared to go up against someone who was, what, in his 70's.

The Dark Lord came back out, holding her arm lightly as he opened his mouth and began to speak of what he saw while in her mind.

"Florence, what a sweet old lady..." Snarling he moved his hand to her cheek and wiped away a tear falling down. "And not to mention Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes? I thought someone of your calibre could have found a place much, much better... I guess I was wrong then hmm?"

"S-Stop-"

"If you're just going to cry like a child I'll get straight to the point. I am your new soulmate."

Eden was more freaked out about what he had just said then everything else that was happening to her in that moment.

Her new soulmate?

Had the man gone mad?

He was older than her father and old enough to be her grandfather... Why would he even think something so fucked up like this.

Her questions were answered as he circled around to the other side of her. "You may be thinking how do I know I'm certain? Well look at it this way. Harry was your previous soulmate, I've killed him and we are linked in every other possible way; mind, body, wands... It is only logical that you, Eden Abella, are my new soulmate and I've already admitted it, so it is now your turn. Are you going to do this willingly or am I going to have to make you do it? Your choice."

By putting his hands up and away from her she quickly turned her head and shook her head, still crying from the painful headache he had caused her just moments ago. "I would never admit such a lie. Even of you were, I would take it to my grave! You disgust me you fucking-"

"That is enough from you."

By putting his hand over her mouth, her words were muffled until she completely stopped speaking and the next thing she knew, Veritaserum was being shoved down her throat and there was not even a way for her to spit it back up because of the way she was laying down.

The thing was, even by forcing Eden to take Veritaserum, she wouldn't admit it. She did not believe it in the slightest hence why it wouldn't come out as a truth. However, she knew that whatever she was going to say next, as a result of the potion, was going to get her into quite a bit of trouble.

"You make me sick you monster! Not even the lowest woman could be your soulmate. You're old enough to be my fucking grandfather you disgusting pig!" She wished it would stop. She wished it would all stop. For fucks sake she was digging herself into a deeper hole and she knew it.

Her face turned red as she watched his face fall and his hands squeeze in and out of fists, but her mouth just kept running. There was nothing she could do about it, Eden just needed to let the potion run it's course, facing the consequences later.

Suddenly, with a loud slap, Eden's head whipped to the side right when the Dark Lord's hand collided with her hot cheek. She stopped speaking immediately, looking at his eyes. Not only were they red, but now they were also angry, displeased or even embarrassed.

"You're going to admit it whether you like it or not you... You git!" As he rose his arms, the doors opened suddenly and both Eden and the Dark Lords attention turned to man walking in.

She could have recognized him anywhere. What with that long white hair of his.

Lucius Malfoy.

Eden didn't expect any less of the man, being here and siding with Voldemort. He was almost as loyal as Bellatrix Lestrange had she not died in the Battle along side her niece Draco Malfoy. Or at least that was what Eden heard.

None of those two were confirmed dead. She remembered reading about it in the Daily Prophet that arrived at the door of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Eden found it odd that the shop still received mail and newspapers seeing as both of the twins had died. Only survivor of that family was Molly Weasley, their mother.

After the battle Eden had not the slightest clue where anyone had gone, but she remembered that some were still alive because as she was fleeing on her own, people from The Order were not too far behind her, running for themselves.

"I'm sorry Lord. If I had known you were busy in here I would not have just barged in all of a sudden, but I heard you. You are frustrated. Is she a bother to you. The girl?"

How could they just speak like she wasn't even there. And they called her pathetic?!

"I can't look at this thing anymore. Won't stop crying. Can't even handle a slap across the bloody face. Pathetic girl!"

"Perhaps we could hand her over to my son, Draco Malfoy. For a few months she can reflect there. He has room for her and he would be more then happy to take this nuisance off of your hands my Lord."

Draco? So he was alive after all.

How great...

"I suppose that would be fitting. At least she would have some time to realize that she is in fact my soulmate and will be admitting it to me one day or another. You can take her now. I don't want to see her until she's ready for me."

Even Lucius cringed at the thought of this 19 year old poor girl being forced into this relationship with this 73 years old man. Although it was completely legal and even if he were not a Lord he still would not face any charges for something this despicable.

In a way, she was thankful Lucius had come in when he did, but the other half of her was reminding herself that she was being shipped off to some young man's house where she would lay in a prison cell for more than a few months, maybe even a year or two.

She officially felt helpless...


	5. Chapter 5

The next time she opened up her eyes, she was in an unfamiliar place.

Vision was blurred, body temperature was down and she could barely feel any part of her body.

What had happened the her after Lucius' snarky remarks about her.

How had she gotten to where she was?

Where she even was was the more important question...

All of her questions were going to go unanswered if she didn't get up and at least try to look for herself.

Slowly, Eden moved her hands to the floor beneath her, trying her best to sit up without the aching feeling in her head pulse intensely.

Dirt, or dust. That was what was on the floor. It was cool, so she must have been somewhere underground, cave like... That's what it felt like to her at least.

She hissed putting her hand to her head and sat up completely, regaining her ability to see clearly once again, though that didn't change the fact that it was dim to the point of not seeing, or she had gone blind... She wasn't able to tell the difference just yet.

The faint outlines of bars could be made out, but aside from that little section, the rest was covered in a rock like material.

Now she knew for sure, she was in a dungeon and as everything was starting to get pieced back together in her mind she suddenly realized.

This wasn't just any dungeon...

No, this was Draco Malfoy's dungeon. She was currently sitting in the cell owned by someone she thought was dead.

Someone she was happy she would never see again.

All the pain he caused everyone...

Eden truly thought Malfoy was just as pathetic as his father Lucius.

With a sudden crack, a house elf was standing right at the door, inside of the cell. The elf held her hands in front of her, clasped together.

Dobby.

That was the first thing that came to Eden's mind in her deranged state, but she was awfully wrong.

It was as if she had forgotten about everyones death, about how Dobby was killed at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange around three years ago...

How everyone she knew was dead and those who were still alive were in hiding.

Now she wondered whether they were safe or not. If they had been caught, if they were close or near. They clearly had no idea of her being alive anymore for everyone at Hogwarts assumed she died along with Harry in the blast that killed everyone in the area.

By some miracle, she got out alive... But she was now beginning to think it wasn't a miracle seeing the circumstances at large.

"Tissy is to make sure you is okay. Here, some water."

The house elf walked over handing a cup of water to Eden who looked up in horror at the little creature. She knew it wasn't the fault of the house elf, but she was clearly upset.

"T-Thank you-" Eden's voice was still raspy from all the screaming and pain she had previously been in when she was still in Voldemort's care.

While drinking the water her mind began to wander...

She was clearly unable to do magic in this place whether it was because if an anti magic curse cast on the cell or more specifically on her for the time being.

She was uneducated on stuff like that.

After all, for the last year and a half of her life she has had no access to a book let alone a properly working wand.

She was too weak to try and apparate, but she doubted it would even be a possibility in a place like this.

Perhaps she was really stuck in here... Alone.

It was unlikely that Malfoy would even come down to visit her while she stayed here. Tissy would be more than capable of bringing her food and water or whatever else the girl needed.

After a few hours trapped in the cell, alone with her thoughts which were running wildly in her head another crack was heard.

An apparition.

Her eyes diverted upward to the door of the cell expecting to see Tissy once again, coming to collect her cup of water which she had refilled before apparating out of the cell.

Breaking the cup was not an option.

After weighing out her options, she thought death was better than living the rest of her life with a man who was almost 4 times her age, but upon trying to break it she realized it had been charmed. Unbreakable.

Another factor contributing to her confidence depleting...

She realized she was completely wrong in thinking it was Tissy at the door...

The first initial reaction of her eyes meeting his face was simple. He had slimmed out, gotten into shape and had extremely defined and sharp features. Still his hair was extremely blonde and it didn't look like he had grown out any facial hair, but her vision was still too blurry and messed up to see that far.

"Long time no see, Abella."

His tone was sharp and so sudden that it startled the poor girl. She jumped out of her skin for a moment feeling the hair on the back of her neck rise in horror.

Draco Malfoy, the boy who killed Dumbledore and sided with the Dark Lord when the rest of them needed him the most.

The things she would say if she wasn't holding back would have gotten her killed.

He suddenly conjured a chair and faced the back of it toward her then straddling it shortly after. His hands clasped together and he observed the familiar face in front of him.

"Haven't had someone occupying this part of the dungeon in quite a while. How are you enjoying it?"

What a tease, still after all these years...

"Fuck you Malfoy." She tried to lunge forward but failed to realize that her ankles were locked in chains. She fell right back down as he laughed and watched her in amusement.

"And here I thought you were going to be easy. From what I remember you were a quiet little girl, did what you were told, followed Harry Potter everywhere he went... How have you been holding up by the way? I'm sure staying at 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes,'" He let out a pathetic laugh and continued, "really just struck a nerve with you-"

"Stop speaking to me like I'm a dog."

He wiped the smirk off of his face and looked around at the cell. "After carefully looking around at where you currently are right now, you decide to be hostile? I remembered you were stubborn, but not to this extent Abella..."

Eden couldn't even look at him anymore, the thought simply made her sick. No matter how hard she tried to ignore him, nothing seemed to work, he was the only thing she could focus on in this quiet dungeon.

"You know, I'm quite surprised at how calm you are right now. Potter is dead, Weasley's are dead, that Mudblood Granger... Oh you don't even want to know what happened to her."

What had happened to her?

Why did he say it like that?

Eden's heart was beginning to beat at a rapid pace.

She felt panicked, scared. What had really become of her best friend that was so horrible. She couldn't seem to remember her even dying or hearing about it at all.

"You've been caught. Has that gotten through that thick skull of yours? Voldemort has you now. It's up to you to make this easy on yourself or not..."

It was beginning to feel like his only business here was to torture her, make her feel like she was hopeless, that no one was coming and as she sat there listening she knew he was right which was what made her feel even worse.

She was captured.

She was imprisoned.

And now she was never getting out, no one would come looking.

All of her positive thoughts were crushed under the weight of Malfoy's words which were still all very true.

"What happened to her?"

"Granger?"

Eden simply nodded her head and pulled her knee's to her chest, bracing herself for what was going to be unveiled in a few moments.

"Gutted, she died a slow and painful death. After getting a few... Units, pulled out of her, she was left outside tied to a wooden tree. Her finger nails were plucked off one by one and after that, for each day ten days straight, her fingers got chopped off. It was thrilling to all the Death Eaters."

Thrilling?

How could he say that something that foul and disgusting.

Perhaps a lot more did change about him than Eden had initially thought, but for right now, he had done a good job of successfully scaring her into place.

Silently, she began to weep, turning her head to the side to try and conceal her emotion, but it was obvious what she was doing anyway.

The silence was so loud now. His icy eyes focused down at her as she bundled up in a ball.

"Nothing to say now, hmm? Thought as much."

The chair disappeared as he stood, but she didn't see it happen, she wouldn't dare turn her head now for him to see her in her most vulnerable state. That would have felt like more of a sin than murder in that moment.

Without another word the man left the cell, leaving her once again alone. The chains around her feet seemed to disappear as she felt the weight gradually lessen.

It was feeling colder than it previously was and she was shaking though she couldn't exactly tell the difference between being cold or anxiety.

It was the type of shaking you feel inside of your body rather than outside.

Immediately after he left she sniffled, finally making noise and crying out loud. Had she held it in any longer she might have lost it right in front of him. Eden was glad that didn't happen.


	6. Chapter 6

Almost a week later and Eden was still locked up in the cell like an animal. Tissy would bring clothes to change in, food to eat and water to drink, but Eden refused everything aside from the clothes.

Her logic was simple. If she did not eat, she would starve. If she did not drink she would eventually die of dehydration.

Tissy would always stay to watch her eat and if she refused she would threaten her with the repetitive line, "Tissy is to call Master if you not eat." or "Tissy is to call master if you refuse to drink."

But nothing ever did happen, at least not until that point. 

Of course the first couple of days were hard and she gave in thinking Tissy's words were serious though she learned quickly that whatever she was programmed to say was a bunch of empty threats.

Around the ninth or tenth day she felt that for sure she would pass out. The lack of water was finally getting to her. Eden found it rather odd that she had even survived that long.

She found comfort in the corner of the cell, disregarding the spiders and bugs in it, it was rather comfortable. It felt make her feel safer, knowing that nothing or rather no one could appear behind her and take her from surprise.

She couldn't walk for days now from the absence of any food and her mouth had been dry. At first her body began to heat up, she was lightheaded and dizzy.

Everyday that passed she was growing more and more unaware, mumbling answers to Tissy who would keep threatening her. "Tissy is to call Master if you not eat."

Once her body began to shut down, she was becoming very hopeful that this plan would work. It didn't seem like anyone was going to be coming to force her to eat or anything anyway. If she had gone this long without someone coming to stop her, what was different now.

Her legs were tingly and all of the feeling had left her hands. She was in no pain, but that did not mean she was not suffering. She had dropped a few pounds in the matter of days it had been since she started starving herself actually.

As her eyes were beginning to shut from how tired she was, there was a sudden crack which echoed throughout the whole hall. It was loud meaning that it was not Tissy who had come to see her.

Eden's mind began to race, knowing exactly who was standing at the door.

Who cares who it is Eden. It's not important.

But it was.

Malfoy walked into the cell, shutting the door behind himself and as he did the first time he came to speak to her, conjuring a chair and straddling it, leaning forward and using the back rest to lean his head on.

The chains around Eden's ankles came back. 

They were freezing cold. That was how she realized they had slid back on like snakes.

The silence seemed so loud and his stare seemed so strong and although Eden was not looking at him, she could feel it in the side of her head. 

That was where he was staring.

He pressed his lips together and began speaking.

"I see you've gotten busy... All this work. You know you're not hurting anyone but yourself right?"

That was the whole entire fucking point god...

Eden refused to answer. Her head was already facing away from him and it didn't take much for her to turn her legs the slightest bit inward.

As she did this, his eyes trailed down to her stomach.

With her left hand, she held it almost like a child would do when their tummy was aching while her right hand was on top, tracing over her knuckles over and over again very slowly.

Why was he doing this?

Why was he just staring at her? 

Why was he making this so, extremely, awkward?

"You surely did not think I was going to let you see this little hunger strike through right?"

"W-What are you going to do? Force... Force a fork of vegetables d-down my throat?"

"Wow... Sarcastic even in your last minutes of life. Is that really how you want to go out Abella?"

Her throat hurt from how dry it was and her head was pounding from the lack of food and hunger she was feeling, but she somehow managed to push that all aside and turn her head toward the man sitting amused on the chair.

Her skin was pale, she had bags under her eyes like she hadn't slept and even Malfoy could tell she had lost some weight just by how slimmed out her face had gotten from the last time he had come to visit.

"Have you even gotten any sleep?" 

It was a rhetorical question, but in her head she answered with a firm no, like it wasn't obvious.

Suddenly, his eyes left her stomach and averted to the stone above her head to avoid making any eye contact with her, but Eden didn't seem to notice. Her vision was too blurry to even piece him together properly.

Draco stood from the chair, walking over to her and looking at her lips.

They had been drained of the pinkish colour they once held as did her face. If Eden could have seen herself in the mirror she would have thought she was looking at some sort of ghost because what she looked like right now was most definitely not herself.

"This is for you. Since you've made yourself incapable of eating like a human, let alone move your bloody arms, Tissy is going to sit here and feed it too you until you've gained some of the little strength you had to begin with." In his held out hand there was a salad.

A damn salad.

Eden couldn't remember the last time she had a salad...

No. No she couldn't cave now. She was so close. If she could have just stalled him a little longer... Maybe, just maybe she would be able to get herself to the point of un-saving. The point that it would be too late to get her back on her feet.

"I will not."

"Tissy!"

The house elf appeared suddenly in the cell with the two of them and was given the bowl from Draco's hand. After being told the instructions, the house elf moved closer to Eden trying to feed her.

This felt wrong.

This felt like she was being babied by a fucking baby... The thing was 10x smaller then her.

"Tissy asks for you to open you's mouth."

Feeling the glare of Malfoy was the worst part. He stared into her side as she turned her head away, avoiding the food that was being given to her.

This was all so pointless.

The fact she wasn't eating just meant he would find another way to get her stronger. There were easy spells that he could have cast right from the beginning to feed her hunger without having to lay a finger on her, but he was doing this to amuse himself.

At least that was what Eden came up with. Why else would he be sitting there watching her suffer.

At last, after the many attempts of the house elf, Eden opened her mouth letting the salad enter. The vinegar stung her tongue which had been deprived since the last time she ate, but it felt good to have something in there, something to be chewing down on.

Once she was able, she grabbed the bowl from Tissy's hands and began to scoop it all up. That point, she didn't even care if he was staring though she knew the face he would be making if she did turn to look.

An 'I told you so' look.

That was one thing she remembered from Hogwarts. Malfoy didn't like to be wrong and although he almost never was because he was actually quite bright back in the day, he still wanted it to be known and liked the feeling he got when rubbing it in people's faces.

"Done."

She placed the bowl on the ground beside her and finally turned her head to look at him, but before she could even get the chance she was out like a light.

From what?

Who had done that?

Surely it was not him. He hadn't even had his wand drawn...

The black void took over as she slumped down, losing all feeling in her hands and legs, torso and face, everywhere. She was completely unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

"HARRY NO!"

Eden ran to him although Hermione screamed and yelled, reaching out and trying to grab her arm, but instead making it fall completely out of her grasp while trying keep her from running directly in the middle of the battle.

Right in the middle of the curse.

Right in the middle of death.

Before the loud crash of the spell was heard, the ground below her feet began to shake and in the 0.5 seconds it took for the sound to ring out and echo, Eden realized how stupid she was for running in-

BOOM!

Debris went flying hitting walls and cracking in half. The grand clock was beginning to crash down to the courtyard.

Her head. She had hit her head.

She waited on the floor, holding her head until... Until...

Eden's eyes opened suddenly with a shake running through her body.

The sun was bright now, shining through the window.

What time had it been?

Why was she here instead of in the cell?

How did she even get here?

Eden's brain was flowing with every possible question she could have asked in that moment had there been anyone in the room with her to answer, but she was alone... Alone in the cold, plain, almost empty room.

It took her a moment before her eyes began to adjust to the new light she was being exposed to but when she did, she could see her new surroundings.

Dark walls, brown or black with red curtains which were obviously pulled open. A small dresser with what she imagined was filled with clothing for her, though she wasn't exactly sure.

No one had really told her this was her room, she was just assuming. The ceiling was high but at the very top, Eden could make out a painting.

It was the types of paintings you see at the top of those cathedrals in Italy or France... The ones in faithful places, but the painting didn't look to be about belief, it looked comparable to the night sky on a clear night while being very over exaggerated.

This was the first time she could see clearly in weeks and yes, this was not something special, but it did make her happy to know who sight was not completed messed up.

Smiles quickly faded to a straight face as she looked down, feeling the material of the new top she was wearing, then trailing her hand down to the shorts.

Her clothes... They had been changed.

It did not feel like cheap material either... No, this felt expensive and soft almost like the clothing she used to wear before the war and before she had went into hiding.

The answer to all of her questions suddenly apparated into the room with a crack so quiet Eden almost did not hear it at all.

Tissy walked hesitantly over to the bed and grabbed the shaky hand of Eden, who now sat up against the back of the bed, resting her head against the pillow.

"Tissy is to tell you the rules of the manor."

Rules? 

What rules? 

Where the fuck was she right now? Maybe this was some sort of hallucination or it could be heaven... It was bright enough to be so.

"Malfoy manor may Tissy add... First, you're clothes be in the dresser. Neatly folded by Tissy herself."

Tissy tugged on Eden's hand forcing her to get up from the bed all at once and then started to show her around the small, but large room.

"And this is your bathroom. Tissy is to come here every night and wait to make sure you not... Drown yourself."

Oh how brilliant!

She was on suicide watch by a little house elf who was probably going to be traumatized by the sight of her naked in a shower. Perhaps she could have a small talk with the elf to put boundaries in place even though she did not expect much to come from it. She was a prisoner here after all. No one cared what she wanted anymore.

"Tissy is to tell you the windows cannot be shattered, nor any glass you wish to break and neither is anything you touch... Plastic or wood. You's had a spell put on you. Here is the door-"

Gee thanks Tissy... As if I couldn't see the bloody door from where I'm sitting.

"-You may leave, go for walks outside, but you's is to be accompanied by Tissy at all times when leaving this room. Tissy will bring you food, water, anything you want all you do is say Tissy's name and Tissy will appear. In later days, master Malfoy will be coming to check up on you, but Tissy was told not to say why. That is all Tissy has to say. Goodbye Abella."

The house elf was gone within the second and the small hand that was once in Eden's was replaced by empty pool of air.

All this space. All this space felt so... It felt so...

Eden couldn't think up what she was trying to feel or say-

"Relieving." She whispered out softly walking toward the window.

The sky seemed so much bluer then her eyes could see but that was to blame on being locked up for so long in a cell with no windows and almost complete darkness.

Her eyes moved from the sky to the ground as she was finally realizing that she had missed the first snowfall. She had missed the first sign of nature turning cold, the leaves falling off of the tree's or the plants dying from the fresh winter breeze the blew then dry of all remaining colour. She missed it all while she was locked away, also turning cold, letting thoughts of escaping die and being strained of any colour she had left in her.

She was weak.

Her mind was hurting from how much thinking she was doing without even realizing.

For the next 3 hours she laid in the bed engulfed by the comfy sheets of the bed she was given.

By that point, even if she sheets were horrid, or if they had been torn apart and eaten away from age, Eden would have still felt the warmth they once held, the comfort they gave, the safeness they provided.

She remembered when she was a child she would hide under the covers if she was scared with the silly logic of 'if I can't see them, they can't see me'... 

She couldn't do that anymore. 

Her problems were unavoidable and not any kind of blanket or sheet was going to be able to protect her.

Eden felt a pain in her stomach and shot her hand holding it while she swallowed the lump in her throat to try and fix herself before she lost control, but she was already too far past the point of saving to do anything.

Inhaling sharply for any air to fill her lungs, she felt her tears slide out of her eyes, down the side of her cheeks and onto the pillow which began to soak them all up.

Trapped.

Alone.

Helpless.

Useless.

It was all falling down on her like a ton of bricks and she could do nothing but cave to the unbearable feeling of restlessness and stress it caused her.

The man she hated the most had her in his grasp, claiming that she was his soulmate but even if she wasn't she knew he would have some fucked up plan to keep her and torture her even if it wasn't physically.

In the end she was still connected to The Order.

"God... God I'm so fucking stupid..."

The words she let out of her were raspy due to the tears she was letting out and her hands balled into fists tightly. Her whole body formed into a ball as she cried.

Breathe.

Breathe.

I can't breathe.

Breathe.

Just breathe Eden.

I can't breathe!

"Stop." A new voice cut in.

"I-I- I can't..."

Her back was toward him. After all this time she had to rest and think, she still would not look him in the eyes.

Sure he gave her some nice clothes and sure he gave her a better place to stay, but he wasn't doing it out of the kindness of his heart. 

She was at least smart enough to know that. 

Malfoy was doing this because he had to. Because if he didn't he would get into trouble with the Dark Lord.

"You can... Just breathe."

"P-Please... Please leave..."

The floorboard creaked when he stepped forward, closer to the bed just for her to feel his presence.

"I can't leave." He started, "If I leave you'll get sick, you'll cry for the rest of the night, won't eat, and you'll lay here all night thinking of where you went wrong to get you to this point in your awful life. I've taken care of other other victims. This is not my first round and this certainly won't be my last-"

Abruptly, he stopped speaking as he wasn't making the situation any better then it already was.

"Fucking hell..."

"M-Malfoy please just lea-leave!"

The world felt like it was spinning around her as the only thing she could focus on now was how all of her freedom, all of her abilities, were stripped away from her. She was truly defenceless against everyone and anyone. She had no magic. At this point she could have just called herself a Muggle.

It's going to be like this forever.

You're never getting out.

Harry can't save you now.

No one is coming for you.

Everyone is dead.

"I'm not leaving!" His voice was cold and stern. He was serious in what he said, so angry too.

This must have been so annoying for him, Eden thought. Like he was babysitting a toddler who refused to stop crying or complaining, but she couldn't stop herself.

It was exactly as she thought.

She had lost herself.

Any control she had before was clearly gone from her and her emotions were being fully brought forward.

"I- I need to walk." Eden got out between breaths.

"Walk? You want to walk. Then get the fuck up and walk-"

"Outside. I- I need Tissy."


	8. Chapter 8

Eden held onto the house elves hand as she walked out of the door into the cool air. It smelled so nature like. It smelled new. It smelled cold. It smelled like winter.

Her breathing was under control, but the thoughts were still trying to take over her again.

"Tissy is to talk with you as you walk."

"I don't want to talk Tissy. I want to walk."

"Master Malfoy orders it. Come look at the flowers."

Throughout the whole hour and a half Eden was outside, Tissy had brought her everywhere. There was flower beds, a graveyard and even stables on the estate, but when asked to take Eden to see the animals kept inside of them Tissy tightened her grip and denied the girls request.

By the time they got back inside the sun was starting to go down, indicating that it might have been somewhere around 5 or 6pm.

Like Tissy said when Eden woke up, she was there to provide food, she was there when Eden showered and she was there whenever her name was called.

It was like that for the next two weeks.

Almost never a sign of Malfoy unless Eden was in desperate need for someone other than a house elf. Tissy could do many things but calm someone down from a panic attack was not one of one of those things.

The panic attacks would happen at night, but they did not happen everyday which she was thankful for.

Spending anymore time with Draco the she had to was annoying on its own.

While she lay in the bed staring up at the painted ceiling as it was the closest thing she had to the stars, her mind would run free and being alone made her feel like she had the right to cry and feel emotional about her problems, but she was never fully alone.

She did not have the faintest idea of how Malfoy knew, but right when it was about to get bad, right when she was about to go overboard and pass out from the lack of air, he would walk through her door always taking her by surprise.

He wasn't much help at all and he was the most horrible person to hand out advice to her because he simply did not care about her and would never understand her situation. Why should he though, they had very different beliefs anyway.

Every night he came would be the same.

"Stop you're going to faint" or "Just breathe. You're being stupid"

The most he had ever done was hand her a glass of water to try and make her relax, but he wasn't exactly the type of person to calm someone down and he too knew this. Draco always only cared for himself never of others unless it was for Astoria Greengrass, whom near the end Eden could faintly remember had been having problems with him.

After half of the clocktower collapsed onto the small girl, she forgot a few bits and pieces of her childhood, but nothing too serious. Just certain people she never really spoke to and a few birthdays from years ago when she was still with her parents, when she still had no idea she was a wizard.

Eden was mostly surprised that she did not lose all memories after having it fall on her. She must have been stronger than she thought now that she was thinking about it.

For several days, Eden refused to eat once again, but this time she wasn't attempting to starve herself to death. The thought of food entering her system made her want to vomit and even if she did eat anything it would just come right back out.

19 year old with a 73 year old...

That was all she could think about. That was what took over her mind day and night. That was the reality of this situation and everyone knew it. It was just a matter of time before she caved and admitted it to him just to get herself out of this torture.

She spent a lot of days looking out at the snow. It seemed to snow everyday and it looked deep.

One day, as she laid in her bed, curled up in a ball, she let out the faint whisper of a name.

"Tissy..."

The house elf appears, looking around the room just to find her in the place she last left her.

"Tissy. I have a question for you."

"Ask away."

"Would you be able to tell me if someone had died... My parents specifically. Is there anyway you could find out, is there anything I could do to find out?"

Tissy made her way over to the bed and shook her head sadly.

"Tissy is not able to tell you that information. Tissy does not even know that information. Sorry."

This was a disaster. She couldn't even have the liberty of knowing if her own parents, the people who raised her, who cared for her almost her entire life were alive-

Right as her thoughts cut off the door creaked open and both Tissy and Eden turned to look toward it. With a straight face, Draco entered, still gripping the doorknob as Eden laid back down, turning her head toward Tissy again.

"Out Tissy."

"Master-"

"Out. Now."

Tissy looked over Eden one last time before she apparated out of the room.

After she left, he shut the door behind him and walked the rest of the way into the room.

"The Dark Lord has requested to see you... I thought it would be best if you heard it from me and not Tissy- Would you fucking look at me Abella!"

"Why? I can hear you just fine looking at the wall."

"Because I want to see your bloody face!"

What an odd request from someone who was supposed to hate her, torture her, keep her isolated from the rest of the world for the next months to come.

"Why?"

"I'm not explaining myself to you-" He walked over, grabbing her by her arm and turning her over roughly just to look into her eyes. His eyes screamed coldness, rage and she had not the faintest idea why. "See you're crying like a fucking idiot."

Eden stood from her bed and walked to the window, staring out of it to avoid eye contact with him.

She hated him.

She really did.

Nothing could describe her hatred for the boy. He was quite rude to her.

"We're leaving in 5 minutes. I would suggest you change into something more... Appropriate for the Dark Lord. He wouldn't want to see you wearing what you're wearing now."

Was that a joke? She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Of course the pervert would have loved to see it.

"I'm sure he would, but I'll change..."

Eden lowered her head and waited until Malfoy had walked back out of the room to begin finding something to wear.

As he left he said, "I'll be waiting outside the door for you, do not take long."

Perhaps more time would have been greatly appreciated had he given it to her.

Her hair was in a braided crown with the rest of her hair falling past her shoulder... She took the liberty of doing that to entertain herself though they had been in those braids for days now so they were falling apart.

Now the clothes she was given were not anything like what she would wear, but they were good enough to fit her. There was a variety of clothes ranging from 1 colour tops and 1 colour jeans... Notice the sarcasm?

Aside from those she was provided undergarments and socks and a white flowing dress had she needed to wear it for anything. That was all she was given. As for the clothes she slept in, they were a shirt and shorts, navy blue to be more specific. Eden was 95% sure Tissy had made them because of the tiny T near the waistline of the shorts.

Shorty after Eden put on her clothes, she slipped a hairpin into her back pocket and turned the doorknob slowly to see Draco leaning against the hallway wall. He had a hand pushing through his hair stressfully, but quickly snapped back into his rude character once he saw her.

His eyes trailed up and down her body suspiciously with an untrustworthy feeling to it and what he said next caught Eden by surprise.

"Give me the pin."

How could he have known?

Instead of immediately handing him the pin like he had asked Eden stared blankly at his eyes which were not even on her at that moment.

"Give me the pin. Now."

He took a step closer to try and intimidate her.

Just give him the pin. What could you have possibly done with a pin anyway...

She was right. What could she have done had the pin been able to come with her. Stab him in the arm? It was too dull to even pierce skin.

Her hand shot to her pocket and when she rose her hand, Malfoy snatched the little object out of her hand, throwing to the floor right beside them.

"Nice try." There was a hint of sarcasm as he spoke with a straight face when suddenly, he grabbed her by her upper arm and the two had apparated to what seemed to be the Dark Lord's place of living.


	9. Chapter 9

It was where they had taken her when she was first captured, though it was not a house. No, it was a prison, castle, hospital, basically everything in one type of place

His throne had a home here sitting on top of a small alter where Eden assumed he spent most of his time making decisions and orders for other helpless people under his care to follow.

Malfoy suddenly pulled her against him with a still firm grip on her arm and leaned down to whisper aggressively into her ear.

"If I were you, I would just nod my head and listen. Tell him what he wants to fucking know so that you can get the fuck out of my house you understand."

"Over my dead body-"

"Eden Abella!"

The grip loosened on her arm as both her and Malfoy turned their head to see Voldemort standing at the end of the big room.

Her heart skipped a beat and no, not in the good kind of way.

The Dark Lord stood still with a small smile on his face. The silence felt so loud.

"Hello my Lord. I've brought the girl, like you have asked."

Despite Eden resisting to walk toward the old man, Malfoy dragged her, bringing her face to face with the weird man who had a peculiar infatuation with her.

"I see you've lost some weight. Say did you try to starve yourself?"

Silence.

No answer.

She was not going to speak to him even if her very own life depended on it.

"So be it. If you won't speak I'll figure it out on my own-"

Into her mind he went. It all happened so suddenly that Eden collapsed onto the floor trying to clutch her already pounding, aching head, but she couldn't move her arms.

Her eyes shut tightly and the more thoughts and memories of her stay at the Malfoy Manor the louder her screams got.

He was pulling everything up.

The daydream she thought up of possible ways her parents could have died, her plans to try and escape— though those were more of a fantasy— and her walks with Tissy. He couldn't stay away from the past though. Her past was connected to her dreams which opened up a gateway for Voldemort to dive deeper.

When he pulled out of her mind Eden had tears running down her cheeks, hands shaking and voice gone from how long she was screaming.

"So, you've attempted suicide. You know it would be a tragedy if my future soulmate were dead Eden. Such a terrible tragedy."

"Y-You're not- You're not my s-soulmate."

"It's a shame you haven't realized it yet. It really is. As for your parents whom you seem to think often about- or rather your adoptive parents... They are dead for I was the one that killed them."

Eden's heart sank.

He began to chuckle watching her on the floor unable to move. "Isn't that to funny. I killed both of your birth parents and now... Now I've killed your new parents too. No more family. No more home."

It might have been all the rage filling up inside of her but she somehow found the strength to stand and lunge at him with her hand balled into a fist, but arms wrapped around her torso and with a sudden move she was pulled backward, back to the floor where she then laid defenceless.

"Eden Eden Eden... I would stop lashing out so much. You need to realize who is in charge here. You may take her back Draco. I don't want to see her again until you feel she's worthy enough to see my face once again."

Malfoy basically picked her up and through her over his shoulder to carry her out because the last bit of energy she used was for her failed surprise attack on Voldemort.

"But Lord, that could take months, years perhaps. She is never going to be worthy of your presence."

"Then she will suffer for all those months. All of those years. She will watch everything grow around her, everything change according to season and suffer knowing that she will not be free. She will not be free until she knows, she is mine now. She will be locked up in that room with the knowledge that her parents were hung in front of millions while she was hiding like a coward in the Weasley's shop. She will break herself down until she has nothing left and then... After all of that, she will learn that it is I who is the only one able to provide any kind of comfort or freedom. Now get this goon out of my sight."

Malfoy said a few words, but it all sounded muffled after the speech Voldemort had just given.

She could have done something.

If she were not such a coward like the man just reminded her, she could have been there to save her parents... To save her friends.

The thought was already eating away at her and she had known this information for how long, maybe 10-20 seconds?

The tears she was crying were silent and as they apparated back into the room she was all too familiar with Draco laid her down on her bed.

With little energy left she could only turn to the side and bring her knee's very slowly back to her chest. It was the same position she was in when she left, but now it was worse because of the pain and hurt she was feeling combined.

Without a word Malfoy walked out of the room.

This is my fault. 

Everything is my fault.

Maybe even she was to blame for Hermione's death; Harry's death. 

She must be to blame for not only her parents death, but the parents of many others as well. If she had just come out of hiding and admitted to the Dark Lord that he was in fact her soulmate it could have all been different.

It was most likely true. Harry and Voldemort had shared everything up until his death so it would only make sense if their soulmate was shared as well.

It was a known fact that Voldemort had never had one because even in his younger days no one came forth with a confession. That meant, he was waiting for her for all those years.

"Oh fuck..." She gasped and brought her hand up to her mouth.

It felt like the room was spinning and her body was shaking inside and out. It felt like the whole room was collapsing on her or like she had to carry the weight of her world right in top of her chest.

She could feel the last surviving happy pieces of her life slowly falling away until there was nothing left and she broke down crying.

With a crack Tissy had apparated into the room and hopped onto the bed without asking first. She placed a hand on Eden's shoulder and pushed her hair out of her face as she cried harder and harder with each sob that ripped through her.

She had finally cracked.

After only a month she had cracked under the pressure. How pathetic she felt. How betrayed of her very own self she felt. This was only the beginning and she had no way out.

There was no loophole, no escape, not even death.

"Tissy is here. Tissy is here..."

The house else rubbed Eden's shoulder, letting her cry it out despite her orders...

The tears didn't stop to the point where she leaned against her toilet and gagged just in case she did end up throw up.

By the time she stopped she was fast asleep. The mixture of tears, emotions and injuries she acquired that day had wore her out to the point that even if the earth began to crack in half or the room was filled with dozens of shouting people she would be passed out completely.

During the middle of the night, as she slept soundly in the sheets of her bed, she could feel a hand on her face.

It was cold yet soft as the thumb of whoever this hand belonged to ran over her tear stained, sensitive cheeks. The hand was too big to be Tissy's that was for sure. But it was very much possible that it was her dream making her feel such a thing, actually, Eden was almost 100% certain it was. 

Who else could it have been if it were real anyway. 

There was only one person who came a night and that was Tissy the house elf.

She would come to put away clothes, but stay a little bit to watch her sleep and if Eden was awake Tissy would stay to watch over her and make sure she was doing okay, but that was always in the early hours of the night. Maybe 10pm-12am?

Nonetheless the feeling was gone after what felt like minutes of it being there.


	10. Chapter 10

"I love you. I always will. Promise me you're going to stay safe... As safe as possible I mean. Until it is time. Promise me Eden. I would rather die than lose you to this battle... To him."

Harry grabbed her hands in his, pulling her close enough to feel the heat of her body radiating off of her.

"I promise. I love you Harry. I love you so much-

Eden's eyes opened and her mind was waking up. She laid on her side, holding her hands together just like they had been in the dream she just dreamt or rather, the memory she just remembered.

The amazing feeling you get when you take braids out of your hair or when you take a tight ponytail out of your hair was felt all around Eden's head and to her surprise, bringing her hands up to her head, her braids had been taken out during the night. Her hair was completely down and more wavy at some parts where it had been in braids.

Eden looked around the room for just a moment looking at how dark it was, then trailed her eyes to the curtains. They had been pulled closed. Another thing that 'magically' happened as she slept last night.

Her face still felt warm and soft from the tears she cried out the night before and her eyes burned the way they would if air was being blown into them nonstop and still, they were bloodshot.

Perhaps it was because she had let it all out the night before, but the feelings she felt yesterday had drifted away.

All of the pain and regret were hidden beneath the surface once again. She had gained her control back.

It felt like the first day in weeks that the girl felt energized or ready to do something.

"Tissy?"

The house elf apparated beside her bed holding what looked to be her clothes from the previous night and that was when she realized that not only was her hair taken out of her braids and not only had the blinds been shut to prevent the light from waking her up, but she had also been changed.

What next, she finds out she's been bathed in her sleep as well?

"Tissy, did you change me?"

"Tissy did. You were uncomfortable. You told me before you slept and Tissy helped you like you asked of her."

Eden was confused. She had no recollection of that conversation ever happening, but trusted Tissy's word for it. She had no reason to lie and even if she did Eden was at the point where she really did not care anymore.

"I would like to walk. Will you take me on a walk?"

"She will not." The deep voice came after a crack echoed throughout the room.

Eden's head turned as Malfoy looked down at the little house elf standing on the floor.

"I will."

There was a hint of amusement, but overall Eden could not tell how he was feeling. Draco was good at hiding his emotions and was good at being selfish, but she really could not tell in this situation.

"You will?"

"Is that so surprising Abella? That I would like to walk you."

"You say it like I'm an animal-"

"Might as well be."

Her jaw clenched tightly. 

How dare he say that to her. How dare he intrude on her and then call her such a foul thing, an animal. Oh the way she wanted to rip his head off. She could picture herself doing it too...

"Tissy. Your duties have been fulfilled. You may find yourself out of this room. Now."

His eyes glared at Tissy who nodded her head, muttering a quick "Yes master" and apparated out of the room like he had instructed.

"I'll be back in 10 minutes. You're to be dressed by then."

Leaving Eden in the room all alone, she got up and walked to the bathroom. 

With only 10 minutes on the clock there was not much she could do for her hair, so instead of doing it some fancy way like she normally did, she grabbed a brush from the counters surface and brushed through her messy waves, then putting it in a loose pony tail with strands hanging out the sides from the messiness of its state.

Clothing wise, well, she only had one option. The same bullshit she always wore. So she grabbed the top and pants she knew all too well and put them on after finishing up in the bathroom.

Right as the time had hit 10 minutes he was back in the room, no warning or anything. 

So that meant if Eden had still been changing— which she was not thankfully— Malfoy would have saw and probably would not have left either.

He handed her a black coat which was almost perfectly her own size... What were the odds.

It was probably a friends, or something of his moms? But it really did fit her well. It almost reminded her of a jacket she used to own. It had gotten lost during the battle. She had just completely lost it, but it was almost exactly the same if she was remembering it properly.

Once they made it outside the fresh air hitting Eden's nose felt like the biggest breath of air she had ever taken. It had been so long since she last came out, so long that the last time she came out there was no snow on the floor. 

None at all.

It was fresh too. If it was snowing before it was not now, but when looking up at the dark clouds floating up above her, Eden could only assume it was going to start up again anytime soon.

For the first few minutes it fell silent.

There were no words to be exchanged for either of them and small talk was not very helpful when Eden has been locked up and left in the dark about any new events.

It was clear that Eden hated him, he could see it. Just by the way she looked or talked to him.

Behind all of that fear she tried so heavily to contain, there was still the tinge of sarcasm she had when she first came to his home.

Eden traced her hands along the stitches of the pockets. It was no normal stitch...

Connecting to the stitches with little embroidered flowers which lead to bigger or more full flowers that decorated the pockets. 

Whoever this once belonged too— Eden was glad she was wearing it now— giving it the use it deserved. 

So beautiful and warm.

Malfoy stared at her wandering hands which eventually trailed into the pockets when she began to grow cold.

"I'm sorry about your parents..."

The sudden voice caught her by surprise.

Was he really trying to make small talk with her? After he had just expressed how he really thought of her... An animal.

"I know you don't mean that. I don't need your fake sympathy Malfoy."

"...I really am. It's a shame what happened to them."

Eden laughed amusingly as she looked down at her shoes which got buried into the snow over and over again with each step she took. "I'm sure you are... After you probably watched them die."

Quietness.

Malfoy was guilty. He had been present for the death of her parents, every Death Eater was, though he only arrived at the very end and how was he even supposed to know who they were.

Eden and himself were never particularly close with one another throughout their years at Hogwarts.

She was beginning to block out the sounds of the snow crushing beneath her feet as she walked. It annoyed her quite a lot.

"Tissy has told me you had wanted to see the stables from the last time you came outside."

Changing the subject. Typical for someone like him.

Eden cleared her throat and looked up at where she was going since Malfoy had turned left, she followed. All she did was follow.

"Yeah. I did."

"Well do you still want to?"

His almost grey looking eyes met hers when she turned her head to meet his awaiting gaze. It was intimidating because even if he was trying to be nice, his face was still emotionless and cold. 

His voice was never rid of the demanding structure it held, but that was easy to overlook and ignore.

Eden nodded her head.

With a quick move, Malfoy grabbed onto her wrist and began to drag her with him to the stables, which were not far at all from where they stood at that moment.

He dragged her all throughout his garden, his trail and down a dirt path which had been covered by the snow.

Thank god for that. If it had not been covered up Eden would have ruined the shoes she was provided and let it be known that there were only one pair of shoes in the bottom drawer of that dresser and they were always the same.

When they reached the stables Malfoy leaned against the doorframe after sliding it open and watched her walk in and her reaction to all of the horses.

There were three and each had a name on the door of where they stayed.

Spirit. Spirit was a black horse. Male and very large at that. She could not tell what kind of breed it was though she had not read up on horses since forever ago.

Shadow. Shadow was a greyish black colour, just a little bit lighter than his neighbouring horse Spirit and had tiny spots all over him. He was a male just like the other. Something about him that really stuck out to Eden were the black spots around his eyes. The fact that they were natural just boggled her mind.

Lastly, there was Abella...

How odd.

Abella was the only white horse from the three of them and purely white at that. There was no spots or dots on her. Of course it was a female hence why she was separated onto a complete other side from the other horses.

Abella hmm?

Abella was a common name, but she never, EVER met a person who named their horse Abella. This was a weird coincidence.


	11. Chapter 11

Malfoy's eyes never left Eden as she moved from horse to horse, being as gentle as possible and earning their trust. The girl was quite impressed at how trusting they already were of her.

After leaving Spirit and Shadow she moved on to the next side seeing his favourite horse from all three of them in the stable, but kept his eyes on her face, looking for anything, any sign of confusion, but there was none.

Draco ran his thumb over his bottom lip which was a horrible habit he picked up from when he was just a boy, and straightened himself off of the frame.

His hand fell back down to his side as he walked toward her.

Eden did not even realized before a hand reached out from right behind her being placed on Abella's nose shortly after.

Head turning to look behind her, her eyes landed on his, though they were not looking back into her's anymore. Malfoy's eyes were locked on the horse in front of them and he concentrated on petting her.

"She's my favourite you know?"

"Yeah? Why?"

The faintest smile crawled onto his lips but he caught himself before he could slip up. He lips went back into a line and he took a moment before answering her question.

"My mother got her for someone she cared about a long time ago... The girl is dead now, but every time I look at this horse I remember what she used to be like before everything went wrong..."

Her sister, Bellatrix.

That was the first and only person that came to her mind.

Who else could Narcissa of all people cared so much for to the point where she got them an entire horse.

Eden was now starting to realize how rich this boy was. All at the ripe age of 20 he had a mansion, three horses, a house elf and the largest estate she had never stepped foot on. No wonder he spent his money on such stupid things like a horse.

"Are you getting cold?"

"No."

"Well I am." He pulled his hand away and Abella nodded her head slightly, wanting more pets and rubs. Malfoy turned his head toward the open door seeing the snow starting to fall down which in turn made Eden turn her head as well.

If they wanted to make it back before a real snow storm hit, they would have needed to leave now.

If it got too bad, they wouldn't be able to find their way back to the house and they would be stuck outside or would most likely need to come back here, to the stable, in order to have shelter.

Fortunately, the two made it back just as the snow started to come down hard. Eden's shoes were soaked— which made the water slowly but surely bleed through to her socks— as was as her hair, but the jacket did it's purpose and kept her clothing underneath dry.

Right when Eden went to hand the coat back to him, Malfoy shook his head and stepped back. "It's yours. I won't always be here to give you one and if you want to take a walk with Tissy you'll need a jacket anyway."

That was what he told her and Eden was gladly going to take it no matter how much she hated him. Now she had another thing to add to her small wardrobe.

"What is past the stables?"

"Hmm?" Malfoy hummed leaning forward to hear the girl better.

"I asked what was past the stables, the path continued did it not-"

"Whatever is past those stables is none of your concern. You won't be going there anytime soon so there is no reason for you to know..."

There was something that could kill her back there.

Why else would she not be allowed?

Was it a giant? No. That wouldn't make sense she would have heard it being so close when she was in the stables.

Those things were ear piercing.

Was it a place for her to escape? Maybe a road?

Also no.

From what she could remember Malfoy hated Muggles... Living near a muggle road or town was the last thing he would have done.

"It's not anything you could die from. I just don't want you going there."

"Why not?"

Eden was genuinely curious as to why it was such an offence if she went past the bloody stables. If it was not something she could have died from then what was it?

"Because I say so. You should go back to your room."

Fucking hell. She was back to that treatment.

The treatment of her being a prisoner.

The treatment like she was a child.

She absolutely hated it.

Talking to someone like a child was always a pet peeve of hers but coming from Malfoy just made her want to punch him hard across his face.

Without another word Eden turned on her heel. She walked up the grand staircase and when she looked back Malfoy had just abruptly disappeared, most likely apparated.

Later on that night Tissy came as usual, making sure Eden was safe as she showered and then making sure she got into bed, staying with her until she was fast asleep.

That was new.

Staying with her as she drifted off.

Tissy was quiet, she never spoke unless she absolutely needed to or was asked a question so having her there, sitting with her back slumped against the wall was no problem at all.

Before Eden fell asleep, she offered to give Tissy room to sit or even lay down, but every time she asked the house elf would shake her head and give a silent refusal.

Eden never tried to push it. She just assumed that Tissy had strict orders she needed to follow and that there was no room in that tight schedule of hers for relaxation or a nap.

Aside from caring for her, Eden had no clue what else Tissy did around the house. Not all the work could be done by one house elf.

It was impossible.

This place was huge!

Maybe Malfoy had other house elves or maybe even staff that she had just never seen or met. She was rarely out of the room unless it was to walk outside in the front yard, so it would make sense for there to be some unknown residents in the mansion.

No offence to the little creatures, but the food Eden was receiving tasted way too good to be cooked by just a house elf.

Eventually though, her eyes shut and sleep took over. The first night in weeks that she was actually sleeping at a normal time, not staying up and overthinking her future plans in life.

It wasn't worth it.

All the panic attacks and suicidal thoughts...

That's what she told herself now until tomorrow when she wakes up in a bad mood once more, restarting all the anxiety and rage.

The feeling could not just be pushed to the back of her mind.

When you're locked up in a house like this all you could think about was the unavoidable future and the things you were trying so hard to hide from.

It felt like school.

For example, when you procrastinate, you lose track of time and deadlines until you wake up one morning and remember what you have forgotten and now instead of just having to worry about one assignment, you're worrying about many and eventually you'll need to come face to face with your problem...

That was how Eden felt almost every day.

For today, she was fine and she had forgotten all of the things she was being forced to do, but when she remembered she would go back into the state she hated so much.

For the time being, her mind was still at ease. She fell asleep peacefully bundled up under the sheets of the bed. Eden had a habit of pulling the sheets up over her head.

During the middle of the night, again, she felt a hand on her cheek, but this time instead of staying asleep, her eyes opened the slightest bit, She could make out the outline of a person, taller than her that was for sure, but she was not exactly certain who it was.

Her vision was blurred and she was not willing to wake up fully to find out who the culprit was.

They were not hurting her and knowing that it was probably going to be a dream inside of a dream anyway, she shut her eyes and went back to sleep just as she told herself to do...


	12. Chapter 12

"Who is she again Draco?"

"Abella she was a year below us Pansy. Surely you remember her. You used to call her Harry's little pet... Does she still not ring a fucking bell."

"Goodness Draco just say her bloody name! You'd best be relaxing if I were you and yes, I do remember her now.... Look at her. She sleeps so peacefully-"

Eden grabbed the sheets and threw them over her head to cover herself from the judgement of Pansy Parkinson.

Half asleep or fully awake she would remember her voice anywhere.

Say, the only reason why she was up was because of Pansy's voice.

She heard it and her body jolted out of it's slumber out of pure curiosity.

Though Eden was barely even awake, just enough to the point where she could eavesdrop.

Pansy had been talking about Eden for the last hour like she was not there and Malfoy just stood there and observed her while she slept.

The reason they were there was still unclear, but there was nothing she could have done to get them out anyway. 

She was only a prisoner after all.

"Not so peaceful anymore? Haven't you heard Eden... It's Christmas. Is this where you're going to be spending the whole night or-"

"Pansy cut it out will you?" Malfoy spoke up. "Let's leave her be-"

"But why-"

"I said let's leave her be. Come on Pansy. I'm being serious." He said sternly.

Pansy, with a smirk on her face turned to look at him, bringing her hands up in a sarcastic self defence and started to the door. "Are you serious Draco? Are you really serious?" She teased.

His mouth never formed into a smirk, nor did he show any signs of enjoying her jokes, but Pansy was one of the only people who was able to read under that.

"Abella?"

Eden's head popped out from under the sheets and she tiredly looked at the door seeing Malfoy sticking his head in. That was all he needed in order to know she was listening. Not even a word left her mouth before he started speaking again.

"If I were you I would try to get up today. You've been in bed for three days now have you not?"

"Leave Malfoy. Go be with your friend."

"I'm serious. You think I'm out to hurt you when that is not the case at all-"

Eden was awake now.

This argument was bringing forth all of her pent up rage and in turn she got energized pretty quickly. 

Bringing her hands to her hair, she pushed it back and off of her shoulder. It was pinching her and she felt uncomfortable with her hair in that position.

"You know I always thought you were smart, but I never pegged you to be a liar. All these years and only now I have realized... What a shame we didn't know each other in school, right?"

"It's a privilege that I am being nice to you. Cherish it while you still can Abella."

The door shut abruptly in a harsh manor and he was gone. 

Eden was once again alone. 

Like she did on the days that she did not spend in her bed, Eden walked over to the bathroom, doing her hair and washing her face, then she would brush her teeth and get herself sorted, pick out the same clothes she wore all the time, put on her shoes and then stared out the window for a good 2 hours until Tissy would come to put her clothing away.

That was the routine... 

Every. 

Single. 

Day.

Except for today.

Her hair was done in waterfall braids as usual. She always thought it was simple but elegant. She also liked the way the braids looked like a crown around her head. It would bring the attention to her hair to distract from her face and body... 

Most of the time.

About half an hour after she took a seat at the desk the door opened.

She could sense who it was before even turning back.

The presence felt new and unwanted, but nonetheless the lady was here and she was not going anywhere else.

"Eden Abella. I had thought you were dead after the Dark Lord came up empty handed his first search for you, but here you are almost 18 months later, stripped of your magic and in none other then Draco Malfoy's house. How did this confinement come to be?"

The girl walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge awaiting Eden's answer.

The door was left open but it did not seem to matter to Pansy and it of course was no matter to the girl either.

Surprise was the most dumbed down way she could describe the look on Pansy's face as she was being ignored. 

Her face turned red and her hands scrunched in and out of fists, then smiled, and continued on. "I am not one you should be afraid to speak to. Do you not remember me from school-"

"Yes Pansy. I do unfortunately remember you. I remember you were quite cruel to me. I think the rest is pretty self explanatory."

Her face dropped and her expressions changed to one of anger to one of confusion.

Why is she looking at me like that?

Did I hit a nerve or something?

No, no, this is real concern.

"Tell me how you got here Eden..."

"Stop calling me that."

"Your name?"

"Yes, my name. It disgusts me. I hate it."

"In my personal opinion Eden is a wonderful name..."

Eden stared at her as she slowly cut herself short meeting her gaze.

"My daughter is named Eden, actually. She's 1 year old."

Oh lord... How rude of her. 

Now she felt bad. 

She basically just insulted Pansy Parkinson's child which until now, she had no idea of existing. Pansy was still quite young, but 20 was a normal age for someone who was ready.

From what she could remember of her time being with Florence, before she was captured, women in their early 20's would always come in complaining of their duties as mothers, cooking, cleaning, watching over their kids while also working full time jobs.

She constantly felt sympathy for the struggling mothers.

"I'm sorry. I did not know-"

"There is no need to apologize. I've always thought the name was beautiful. Maybe that was why I was so jealous of you in school hmm? So tell me what happened."

She could see what Pansy was trying to do. Get close in an attempt to seek answers, or maybe even gossip, but out of all the long weeks she had been here not one person had come to ask her how she felt... 

How she really felt about everything that was happening to her. 

No one had even called her by her first name until Pansy walked in. 

So like anyone would have done, jumping at the chance to let her emotions fly, Eden opened her mouth and began to speak.

"I was hiding. I hid very well. Some place close to the school, or rather in the same country. I heard talk of them going to Europe to try and find me, though I am not sure if much of what I heard is true. I stayed with a lady for most of it though. She provided me food, water, hygiene... She was wonderful. On my birthday I went to have dinner and my best guess is that someone saw me walk in. Death Eaters showed up. They threatened the ladies life and I couldn't let that happen. If she died because of me I would have never forgiven myself. So, I surrenders myself to them. They knocked me out cold before I even got into the car they took me here in. Anyway, it does not matter. What's done is done and I am trapped here for eternity."

Eden dug her face into her arm and turned to the side so she was facing the window. Her knee's were up against her chest and her back was rested against the backrest of the wooden chair.

"He's told me about your panic attacks. Draco I mean. He told me you have them quite frequently, almost every night and that you have a lot of trouble containing them-"

"I'm glad that you now know every aspect of my life, but my panic attacks are not as concerning as you make them seem."

Pansy's lips pursed together and she looked toward the empty door. She turned back to Eden and although she was being blatantly rude to Pansy, the girl still tried, and forced herself to make small talk with her.

"You know you could leave this room at any time. There is no magic keeping you here. I think you know that though. Do you just refuse to leave or is there another reason for your constant depression?"

"There are many reasons, but you are not my therapist. The reasons do not concern you, but part of it is because I don't want to leave. If I leave I feel bare. At least I am familiar with this room," Her eyes diverted to the stars on the roof which caught Pansy's attention. Her eyes shot up as well. "There are certain things I like about it. Outside is so new. New has had nothing but bad outcomes ever since the war, so I stick to places I know."

"I see. Say, those are beautiful stars on the ceiling. I wonder who painted those?"

From her peripheral vision, Eden could see Pansy look toward her as if she was curious or waiting for an answer. 

This was not her house, if the girl really wanted to know she could have just asked Malfoy. They were friends after all.

"I wonder..."


	13. Chapter 13

It was silent as Pansy stood from the bed. Somehow, the thought of her leaving made Eden shift uncomfortably, enough to catch her attention and make her stop mid walk to the door.

"Would you like to come with me? You could see my daughter?"

The offer ran circles around her head for a few seconds before she nodded her head and accepted the invite.

"Malfoy told me I-"

"I don't care what Malfoy told you, the most you could do is swat a fly. Come on."

The two girls walked out of the room, one in front leading and one following behind.

It was obvious who was who.

It had been a few days since she left the room and walked down this long hallway.

What she noticed was that for all the times she walked up and down it she never realized how nice it was.

As much as she hated the guy, Eden had to give him some kind of credit for making his home look so beautiful.

On their walk down the stairs Eden was curious, more confused, but curious. Pansy had been so trusting of her; So confident that she was going to do no harm to her or her child.

Who had ever trusted their child with a prisoner? It was not adding up to her, but she was somewhat grateful that someone had trust in her. 

Of course, Eden would never do anything to hurt someone without reason, especially a baby.

The house was so dark for it being Christmas Eve. It felt too cold to be celebrated.

When they made it into the living room of the house Eden saw the baby on the floor. She was not alone though. Beside her, Malfoy sat holding a toy of her's that she handed to him right before they walked in.

His eyes directed to the door and he immediately dropped everything he was holding and got to his feet. "What is she doing out? Pansy, I told you to keep her inside of her room, not to let her out... At least until the sun went down or someth-"

Speaking like Eden was not even there, standing in front of him with her hands awkwardly being held in front of her.

"Please Draco it's Christmas for gods sake. Excuse my language. Where do you think she's going to go in the span of what maybe 3 hours? She'll be under my care, my supervision. I won't let anything happen to her and she won't escape. Plus she wanted to see Eden."

The name was still catching her off guard, thinking that it was her own name being called.

Growing up there were not many Eden's around and she had never once met anyone named Eden. Aside from her there were no Eden's at Hogwarts. The only one that she could find had graduated many, many, MANY years before her in the tenth century when the school was in it's first years of opening.

It might have just been because the name was not popular where she lived, but that was no longer relevant now was it?

"You're willing to let her sit there... With your baby?"

"Well, she is not an animal is she? Eden, are you going to be biting my child's head off? You can be honest" Pansy's lips formed into a smirk as she looked at her for an answer.

Malfoy's eyes flashed toward her and he shook his head. 

It was a shame. 

He had no sense of humour. 

Must live a very boring life if that is the case.

"Do not answer that..." His attention went back to Pansy. "If she does anything let me know. I'll be going now."

"To where are you going?"

"The stables. I need to check something."

With that Malfoy left the room.

"I told you it would be fine. Now come on. She loves to meet now people. I'm sure she's going to be a social butterfly when she grows up. Just like the girl she is named after."

The last part was more of a whisper to herself so Eden was not able to make it out when she mumbled.

After a few hours spent with Pansy, she was brought back to her room as per the request of Draco himself and by the looks of the ballroom, Eden could piece two and two together.

A party was being held here and Malfoy wanted her concealed and hidden before anyone who was not Pansy Parkinson saw her.

Judging by how Pansy did not know of Eden being captured, she also figured that it was not known to the public yet...

She usually had an explanation for everything, but that was something she could not figure out.

Why had they kept her capture a secret?

She never asked that question. 

She felt it unnecessary because Tissy, while being caught up with the news, never spilled in fear of getting herself in trouble for oversharing and Malfoy... Yeah that was never an option.

The darker it got, the more people began to show up, exiting their lovely cars in their lovely dresses. Eden missed corsets. She always complained about how painful and tight they were to the point that she could not breath, but the elegance of them was so breathtaking.

To pass time, Eden counted the number of time she saw a woman wearing a green dress, then a red, then a black or white or even champagne. Then she imagined what they would look like if she had found her soulmate. 

The colours she saw now were faded, still beautiful but faded. She was at least grateful that she could see colour at all.

She was at least grateful that she could see colour at all  
All of the girls and ladies who arrived to the mansion... They were all so lovely, but the more she stared the more hurt she became.

How was it fair that she was to be locked in this room all alone while all of these young girls around her age get to enjoy themselves and attend parties.

Their hair was done so nicely, they held flowers and had pearls and diamonds on all around their bodies.

Eden could only dream of that time in her life. So elegant, she used to always been invited to beautiful balls and parties by...

Hold on.

Whom had invited her to those events? How could she have forgotten?

Her attention was pulled away when a woman suddenly stepped out of her car.

Dressed from head to toe in cream, her hair was pulled back into a braided crown with all of her hair gathered into it rather than what Eden did, leaving her hair down.

Although she could not see clearly she had a mixture of cream pearls and diamond earrings. Her shoes were sparkling and so was her wrist. Wrapped around it was a diamond bracelet to match her earrings. Her hair had a black flower pin to hold it back and in place for her.

For a moment Eden's heart stopped while staring at her. 

Oh how gorgeous she was. The lady probably had no idea of her angelic beauty.

All of a sudden the woman's eyes locked on the window and Eden, upon realizing, swiftly turned her back to the window and ducked. 

How embarrassing.

She seemed like a little girl being so impolite and staring, but how could she not, having someone she envied walk across the path toward the mansion so freely and elegantly.

Eden took in a breath, exhaling right after and shut her eyes tightly before she stood, stepping away from the window completely.

After such an encounter like the one she just had, she did not want to be embarrassed by anyone else for the rest of the night.

The girl wished she had a dress... 

She wished she had a dress that she liked. 

Something that she could wear instead of the 5 pairs of tops and jeans she had, all the same.

Her eyes darted to the dresser.

There was...

She had been so stupid!

It had been there all along.

The white dress. The one she looked over once and deemed as something she would never wear.

She had a dress! And even if she could not celebrate with the rest of the people downstairs, she could hold her own party up in her room.

The music from the ballroom was loud enough to be heard in her room and even if it was faint... It was still music. It wasn't like there was going to be anyone in here that would be making much noise either.

The dress fell to her feet as she held it up against her body with a smile on her face. It was perfect length for her and she assumed it would be the perfect size if it was in the dresser to begin with. It did not just end up there on accident did it now?

As she slipped the dress on, Eden began to notice little details of it.

Just like the jacket there were flowers, almost exactly the same. It was made out of wonderfully comfortable fabric and the two silk ribbons that crisscrossed at the front of her along her torso needed to be fed through the holes of the dress.

The dress itself was not puffy and overwhelming like everyone else's, but it was still a beautiful dress nonetheless.

The fabric just fell loosely to her feet and the little t-shirt sleeves had gone off of the shoulders. Once she got the ribbons tied and through the holes running from her waist to the point where you could just see her cleavage, she walked in front of the mirror.

This was the first time in weeks that she had even remotely smiled at herself; Her appearance. 

The mere look of her body and clothing in the mirror was no longer disgusting her. The dress hit all of her curves perfectly, not making her look like a walking plank of wood all of the time. 

It was truly stunning.

Now the question was... Was she even supposed to be wearing it?


	14. Chapter 14

The music ended and Eden had just finished dancing around her room, holding her pillow as if it were a real boy in her arms.

You know, what was stopping her from walking down and getting a better look at the party from up close. Tissy was definitely busy serving people like a good house elf.

There was no magic holding her in there either.

Nothing was stopping her, it was just the mere fear of the consequences she would endure if she were caught out. Malfoy had let it be known, especially today, about his distaste for Eden wandering around the mansion alone, but who cared really. Certainly not her at that point.

The pillow fell out of her arms and her attention was now on the door.

Staring at it.

Just beyond those planks of wood that was the door was a whole party, full of people. Rich people, classy people... The type of people she used to look up to... The type of person she used to be.

"Fuck it."

Eden muttered before opening the door and shutting it closed, leaving the candles in her room lit so that if it did concern Malfoy so much to the point he would walk out and look through the window, he would think she was still in there moping around.

She waited until the coast was clear and set down the stairs into a hallway full of paintings.

Thankfully, they were not the ones that moves or spoke, they were just normal, simple, paintings of beautiful art ranging from flowers to nature to... 

Boobs? 

Still beautiful.

Eden found an open door, following the sound of the music while also trying to hide herself and make sure she did not accidentally enter the party. 

Yes, she came down to investigate, but not because she wanted to attend. She wanted to watch from a distance. From behind a...

A curtain!

There it was, her opportunity to peer in on freedom and luxury. 

She carefully made her way to the curtain inside of the ballroom, shutting the door behind her.

It seemed that this space was used to store old furniture or things that were usually in the ballroom on any other day. There was still a lot of space though. The curtain went into a U shape around the room, stopping at the wall the door was on on each side.

Where could she look in from. Looking in from the middle would cause too much attention to herself. 

The curtain was velvet red and she was pale white.

That would not work.

What was an alternative?

Looking around, there was not much she could think up until she spotted a pillar a few metres away from where she stood.

There we go. 

That will work, hopefully.

Eden leaned against the pillar, peering in through the the small crack between the pillar and the curtain and she slowly wrapped her fingers around the fabric, pulling it slightly more open so that she was able to look in with not one eye, but two.

Her face lit up; A small smile on her lips, when she saw everyone, everything...

Women and men danced together on the dance floor, teenage girls waited on the edges of the dance floor to be asked by teenage boys. 

Oh Eden could remember those days so clearly. The nervousness she used to feel when waiting. Every guy who passed making eye contact and smiling, but heading to a girl beside her instead of her.

When she was 13, she craved the attention of a male and that was very dangerous. She could have gotten herself really hurt if it were not for Harry, swooping in and finding out that they were in fact soulmates.

A cool hand chilled Eden's bare shoulder as she let go of the curtain and spun around. Her eyes flashed for only a moment looking at him.

His hair had some waves in it and she could tell he tried to push it back, but it was all coming forth once again. His eyes were cold still, but held something underneath them and his hand never left her shoulder, he kept it there. Gently having a grip on her.

The staring was becoming too much for her so she began to apologize over and over again.

"I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry... I just couldn't help it. I wanted to see. I needed to see-"

"I knew it would be a matter of time before you came down."

Her face fell in relief.

Malfoy was not mad at her. He didn't even seem the slightest bit worried. It was like he was waiting for her.

"Have this. I'm sure you haven't had something to drink in a while."

Was he drunk? Was that the issue here because in what world did Draco Malfoy ever offer to give a prisoner an alcoholic beverage.

Eden was not complaining though, she grabbed the glass from his hand.

As she did so their fingers grazed one another for only a moment before she pulled her hand away and brought the glass— which he had probably already drank from seeing as it looked half empty and the beverage stained the sides— to her lips.

Wine.

How much she missed wine.

Sure she was a lightweight and could have gotten drunk off of 3 glasses of it, but it was so good. Not to sour, not too bitter, just the way she liked it. Say, this was the exact kind she used to drink all the time.

"Is this strawberry?" Eden turned back to the curtain and looked out once again.

His hand slid off of her shoulder.

Seeing all the girls dancing made her miss dancing. Her lips fell into a faint frown and her eyes got slightly glossy.

Suddenly, an arm was placed right above her hands which rested on the pillar. She turned her head to the side slightly and realized Malfoy was too leaning against the pillar. When she looked up at his face he did not flinch or even look, but she knew that he knew that she was looking at him.

"Why the dress?" His gaze was still on the attendees of the party when he asked.

"I was bored and jealous... I wanted to be like them."

"You don't look like them."

Wow...

"You look better because you're not trying. You look better because you don't think you're better than everyone else right now."

"I think that has been the nicest thing you've said to me since my arrival here. Maybe you aren't out to hurt me all the time like you said this morning." Eden smirked at her remark and looked away from him right when he looked down at her.

She took another swig of the wine and ignored his stare, just like he did to her in the previous minutes.

"How did you know I would come?"

"Do you think you go anywhere without me knowing about it Abella? I know where you are always, even if you don't think so. Even if you think you can outsmart me..."

The wine glass was empty before he finished his speech all being swallowed by the girl in front of him.

The song that was just playing for the dancers stopped and chatter began in the small 30 second break it took for the next song to begin. The players needed to flip to a new page, a new song.

"Let's dance."

She laughed amusingly at him and slid her way out from under him. "I think you've gone mad Malfoy... Have a good night-"

Draco caught her arm, pulling her back toward him before she could get too far from him. Her breath hitched and her chest stuttered. She looked into his eyes searching for an answer, but he gave it verbally instead.

"I've not gone mad... Let's dance."

The music started and Eden, flustered by his sudden touch nodded her head.

They were late to start, but it was no matter, it was a simple dance, she learned it back when she was around 14 or 15 years old at a party.

Malfoy grabbed her right hand holding it out to the side and wrapped his arm around her waist loosely.

God it had been so long since she'd been touched and treated like a real person. Her heart was nearly melting from joy.

He leaned closer to her, holding his stare on her eyes and then quickly leaned closer to her left ear and whispered into it. "Are you ready?"

"Yes..."

She was basically swept off her feet and although she felt that she could not remember the dance, her body was doing it for her, remembering the steps and the leaps and the hand placements... 

Everything.

It was like she had done this yesterday.

Malfoy made sure to take advantage of all of the room they had back here and as the dance went on, they slowly made their way to the other end of the hall.

"You should look at me, at least." He told her while stone faced.

Eden's eyes were diverted elsewhere. She looked down at the floor, then at times she would look up at the ceiling and then she would look at the curtains that swung by her with every step she took.

"Why am I to look at you?"

Her grip on his shoulder tightened briefly, but she loosened up again right after. She did not mean to do that. It was simply a reaction of hers.

"You want to see how fast I can make you look over?"

She nodded her head once and waited for this life changing thing he was about to say to her. 

Well, he seemed so confident in himself, so she was really interested in what he thought was going to get her to look-

"Eden..."

Her eyes moved from the floor to his eyes immediately and that was when he knew he had really peaked her attention.

They screamed of confusion, but there was a lingering happiness hidden within them, which Malfoy could read straight through.

"And now you're looking..."

"It appears that I am."


	15. Chapter 15

Whatever happened to him, Eden did not want Draco's other personality to return.

The one who did not care for her.

The one who would yell if she even looked in his direction.

The one who...

Hated her.

The song had ended, but neither of them moved from each others arms.

"I think it is your turn now."

"My turn?" Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the boy. "What do you mean?"

His eyes...

Oh god his eyes were stunning when he wasn't trying to act tough and intimidating. They looked so amazing. Eden felt as though she could see every little detail of them just by looking for a second.

"Your turn to say my name."

That was enough for the night.

Eden gently let go of him and his actions followed hers. The two separated, still looking at one another.

"I think it is time you return to your party. They'll realize that their host is gone will they not?"

He chuckled and shook his head, stepping closer to her again.

"The only thing they worry about is themselves. Besides, why be there with them when I could spend the rest of the night with a little sneak like you?"

There we go. Back to the insults.

The way he said it in such a casual tone, as if it was something nice. Like a compliment to give to someone.

What was the time?

Eden looked around for a clock but stopped when Malfoy spoke up, stepping closer again and holding out a pocket watch.

"11:43. Are you in a rush, Eden? If you were I would like to wonder where it is you need to be."

It caught her by surprise every time it rolled off his tongue.

Eden.

Eden...

He was really saying her name.

He was really treating her like a human being.

How strange yet comforting.

"I suppose I am not. Say, why is it you would like me to stay Malfoy?"

"My name. Say MY name."

"Draco,"

Smirking lightly, she began to walk back to the door she entered from, there was seating there and from just that little dance they had, she was real tired. Most likely because she was out of shape.

"Why is it you want me to stay?"

He followed closely behind her like a lost puppy. She could hear his footsteps only a meter or so away from her own.

"Perhaps I feel bad for you. Being locked up in that room all day and night... Is one not allowed to feel bad?"

"I can assure you that I do not need your pity. It's bad enough you're... Drunk? A-And dancing with me? Imagine if you woke up tomorrow to find out you actually showed me emotion for the first time since my arrival."

His jaw clenched and he stopped walking with her, instead watching her continue on without him.

"Your dress-"

Eden's head turned and she slowed, eventually halting her walk to the door.

"The dress... It looks wonderful on you."

Yeah, this was becoming too much.

The more time she spent with him the more she realized how drunk he really was and it was only developing and getting worse from there. If she stayed with him she would receive non-stop ridicule from him when she woke up tomorrow morning.

Though she could also take this as an opportunity. If he was drunk, he might spill and if she just hung in there the slightest bit longer she might have been able to figure out what was behind the stables and why she was not allowed to go there.

It was not like it would be life changing information, but the fact that she was forbidden from going there made it 10x more interesting.

Eden was so tempted.

When someone tells another person not to do something, it just makes them want to do it more and that seemed to be the case for her.

Fully, she turned around and took in a sigh, letting it out and smiling with the breath.

"You think? I thought it was a bit much, but it was the only dress in the dresser."

"No not at all. It is perfect."

This felt so weird and she honestly felt bad for trying to take advantage of him like this, but they were not friends nor were they acquaintances.

They were stranger living under the same roof, that was all.

The old, elegant looking couch was only a few feet away so instead of standing awkwardly talking to Draco... She would sit; Make herself look and act like a friend.

Right when she sat down her eyes diverted to his hand.

Many rings.

So many rings.

Was that- Was that a wedding band?

"Are you married?"

His hand came up in front of his face, looking between Eden and the ring.

"No. It is a promise ring... It WAS a promise ring, to someone who's gone."

He must have really missed Astoria...

How bad it must have been for him to know his soulmate was dead, she knew the feeling all too well herself.

"She was wonderful."

"I'm sorry-"

"I don't want your pity... Just like you said." Malfoy quoted her. "You look eager. If there is a question you want to know the answer to I will not be providing it. I may be drunk but I'm not drunk enough to go spilling my heart out and telling you all the secrets you wish to know of."

Busted.

How had she been so obvious? Was it the way she was sitting? 

It had to be! 

Unless it was her face, or eyes that gave it away. She was not even looking in his direction. That was what probably gave it away.

"Well then I guess our time here is done."

"I suppose it is."

Eden stared at him for a few more moments until he slipped out of the curtain and back to the crowded ball room.

What to do now?

Go back to her room was the best option, but like always, there were always other options. Besides roaming the house, there was one place she was eager to see and if he was not going to take her there, then she would go on her own.

The man was already distracted by his drinking and party, she was sure he would hardly know when she slipped out of the house unless he had an alarm, which he did not.

The air was cool and some of the snow from the previous time she had come outside had melted making the thick layer into a thin one. 

Without a jacket she was freezing, Eden brought her hands to her shoulders holding them in order to bring herself warmth.

After making it to the stables she knew she had successfully made it out. 

Had Malfoy realized he would have appeared long before she made it half way down the path to drag her back and lock her in the room she was all too familiar with.

The lights from the house flashed and a crack was heard, everyone began to come outside the doors, filling the front area of his home to watch the fireworks go off. 

The clock must have struck 12? 

That must have been the case.

"Oh shit!" She whispered, swiftly moving behind the wall of the stable.

The more time you waste standing here the less of a chance you'll find your escape.

Listening to her mind, she set off down the extremely dark path leading somewhat near the edge of the forest. The last bits of gravel were turning to dirt and she was now getting the ends of her dress dirty, not to mention the bottom of her feet.

Upon leaving her room Eden was not wearing shoes, after all, she did not even expect to come out here tonight.

The sounds of the fireworks cracking and popping was growing distance, though the quick flashes of green and red were what lit up the pathway, providing her light and a way to see and direct herself accordingly.

It was awfully quiet. 

No animals hopping around, no bugs because it was winter. 

The only sounds came when the last leaves of the tree's fell down onto the floor, but on that night it was more cold rather than windy.

Eden pulled her foot back, stopping dead in her tracks.

It had ended.

The path ended.

How could this be? There was nothing here? Not a cliff or a road or even a dragon or a way to escape. 

This had to be some kind of joke.

The only reason he told her not to come here was because of possible escape right?... 

Right?

Her feet felt frozen from the cold and her teeth were beginning to chatter while she looked around at her surrounding. It was no different than the front of the house just that there was no house on the open field right beside the forest.

Eden walked 10 minutes from the house and now the fireworks seemed so far that they could have been mistaken for gunshots in the near distance. 

The light being flickered from the fireworks was not exactly providing much help anymore, but the reflection of the snow from the moon up in the sky did help quite a bit.

Although it was still dark she wasn't completely stranded.

What was she still doing out here?

Was she waiting for something to magically appear? 

Was she waiting for someone to come find her. 

What was she waiting for?

Maybe it was more because of how peaceful it was.

This was the farthest she had been from the house and the closest she had been to freedom. 

If she were to just walk a few more steps, just a few, she could have ran although she would never have her magic back and she had no idea where she was. 

She needed her magic back. 

That was something she refused to live without. She was also not prepared for the escape had she really gone through with it. 

This was all just a fantasy playing out in her head...


	16. Chapter 16

The air felt so fresh, but she could sense something coming. Something dangerous, something like a...

Out of natural habit Eden turned her head over her shoulder and to her surprise there was someone standing there just walking out from the forest. This was someone she had not met before...

This someone was dangerous.

She did not need to have her powers in order to tell how much dark energy he was radiating.

At this extent, he must have been a murder.

No...

He was a vampire.

"I'll give you a 5 second head start before I come and kill you do you think that's fair?" The man asked.

He looked to be in his late 20's or early 30's though his hair was silver, almost a faint blue looking in the moonlight.

"1..."

She stood frozen.

What was she to do now. No one was here. She would die here, be left here for a few days before anyone would come looking here.

"2..."

There was no point in running now. He was taller, stronger, but more importantly faster.

"3... You know for someone with a head start you do not seem very grateful... 4..."

All she could do was step back in fear.

"5."

Her arms shot up to protect herself as the vampire sped toward her. He grabbed her wrists as they collapsed onto the snow.

He was overpowering her, though that was just as she expected.

At least now it would not be Eden's fault she was dead.

She was going to be murdered.

If anything this man was doing her a big favour.

Although she did not fear as much now that she was on the brink of death, she found herself trying to struggle, dodging him every time he tried to go for her neck.

She screamed loudly. A scream one could only hear if someone were getting stabbed in the heart.

Without her magic she was defenceless so in a sense the blame would still fall on Malfoy's shoulders and in the end he would be in a grave deal of trouble with Voldemort.

At least two of her wishes would be coming true tonight, freedom and hatred for Draco.

The thought was almost enough to make her smile through her screams of fear.

The vampire punched her across the face, taking her by surprise and out of the shock that ran through her the girl stopped everything she was doing to keep herself safe.

That gave the vampire enough time to get to her neck and sink his teeth in.

Her scream was piercing. So strong it could have shattered glass.

"STOP! PLEASE STOP!"

Back at the house they were all distracted by the fireworks which she knew were loud enough to block out her screams of pain completely.

Without them being able to hear her, she knew what her fate was...

The screams slowly became less and less until there was only a small rasp coming out of her.

"M-Malfoy..."

Was she that desperate that she called out for him?

Eden knew she was going to pass out, the only question now was when.

Her body already went numb and tingly, she could barely feel anything, not even the freezing cold snow against her pale skin.

Right when she thought she was taking her final breath, her final blink, her final look up at the stars on this clear Christmas night, the vampire was ripped off of her flying backward and hitting a tree instantly breaking his back and if that did not kill him, his fall onto a sharp tree branch would have as it went straight through his heart.

The open wound of her neck was bleeding out onto the snow turning it from a white to red really fast and the stars in her vision were beginning to blur and seem so, so distant. She felt like she was no longer in her body and was now just a pair of eyes in a girls head.

She could not stand up let alone move the tip of her finger.

She basically felt alive in a dead persons body.

"Eden!" A man fell to his knees beside her.

Who is he?

Everything sounded distorted and her vision was really starting to give up on her. How was she to know in the state that she was in.

Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

Maybe she was hallucinating and the vampire was still really on top of her, sucking every last bit of life from her neck.

Eden was so pale now, looking in horrible condition.

"No, no! Eden?!"

He placed his wand to her neck and muttered a few distorted words which healed the open holes on her neck.

Shortly after doing that his arms wrapped around her small weak body pulling her against his chest to feel more comfortable.

Her eyes never left the stars.

She was now beginning to see the resemblance to the painting on the ceiling in her room. The stars were beautiful in this part of the world, wherever she was right now.

"Look at me Eden! Please look at me!"

His hand cupped her cold face and he turned her head slightly toward him, finally detaching her eyes from the beautiful stars in order for her to look into his eyes, whoever he was.

Grey.

His eyes looked grey.

"M-Mal-"

"Shhh. It's okay. It's me. Don't speak. You're too weak right now."

Why?

Why was he showing real concern?

This all seemed more than him trying to save his ass from trouble with Voldemort.

This seemed like it was much more...

There was so much more.

She was just oblivious to it.

"Oh god." He held her closer and looked at her already bruising and swollen eye.

It was definitely going to badly bruise.

It was already turning yellow. By tomorrow morning it would turn dark purple at the rate they were going.

There was a spell for everything except bruises. Those were just something that did not seem to have a cure.

He suddenly kneeled his head down, whispering into her ear very carefully and softly.

"Remember who gave you your necklace...  
Remember who you got that necklace from... Please remember who gave you your necklace..."

His whispered it over and over again until he realized she had passed out, still breathing, but passed out.

It was no use.

He was never going to get her back was he..?

Draco picked her up and apparated into his room.

It would be enough to get her back to normal health, until then he did not want her near her room at all.

That room was not one for recovery, it was one for confinement which is something she did not need at all right now.

Before placing her into the bed he cast a spell to clean the dirt off her feet and then one to clean the bottom of her dress. Then, he called Tissy into the room to put her in something more comfortable. He felt wrong looking at her that way, like any gentleman would.

When Tissy left Eden was in a t-shirt and shorts, like she always wore but these were white.

Why the sudden change?

Draco had no clue, but he did not mind in the slightest. His only priority was her, even if she didn't realize how important she was to him anymore.

The only thing left to do was take out her braids from her hair and acting immediately he went to take them out, letting her hair fall loose once again.

With her hair down, there was nothing more for him to do except sit and watch her.

Until he knew Eden was doing better. Draco was not going to take his eyes off of her.

With a sigh, he stood from the bed walking to the dresser right beside the door of his bathroom and pulled open the bottom drawer.

His clothes went flying to the floor until he found it. The polaroids, her ballet shoes, her ring, a picture of her parents, her stuffed animal from when she was a child, the cassette tape containing her own mothers last words...

He kept it all though she had completely forgotten about him.

Out of everything in the pile beneath his clothes, he grabbed the polaroid marked in the back with the date.

December 25th, 1998.

The picture itself was of Eden, 2 years ago... This exact date, this exact time, this exact moment... It was captured on camera.

He held it up in the air, comparing it to the girl asleep on his bed.

Nothing had changed...

She was still perfect.

She was still his...

It was interesting how the world worked. Never did Draco think he was going to get her back nor ever see her again, that was for sure, but here she was, 2 years later.

The only difference was that in the polaroid picture she was not hurt and she was free, she was happy, she was in love...

The Eden laying in his bed now was the complete opposite.

She was injured, tired, hopeless, and most definitely not in love.

It pained him to see her like this.

How had everything gotten this fucked up?

Suddenly he felt an urge. Maybe if he tried one last time... Just maybe it would work.

Draco dropped the polaroid down onto the surface of the dresser and walked back over to the bed, sitting on the edge right beside her. His hand caressed her cheek, over her blue developing bruise and he leaned down.

"Remember who gave you that necklace around your neck. Do it for me Eden... I miss you."

There was no flinch, no movement, no anything. She was passed out, but had she remembered anything of the past he could have been able to tell.

His eyes looked at her lips and then back to her eyes, hoping they would just open and she would magically remember, but that was not the case.

What was he expecting?

He knew the consequences before putting her in this situation, after allowing Snape to do what he did to her.

Draco knew she would forget yet he found himself missing her more and more since the first day she arrived here.

"I loved you Eden... I'm sorry it has come to this."


	17. Memory 1

October, 1997

"Point! Point your foot Eden!.. GOOD, good now keep it like that. Keep on your toes Eden!"

"Bloody hell Hermione you'll break her!" Harry grabbed ahold of Eden's waist as he helped her come down from the painful point of her dance.

Hermione shook her head with a sigh and rolled her eyes when she walked over and flopped down on her bed at the burrow.

"Eden asked ME to help her Harry. If she wanted you to help her she would have asked. Isn't that right Ed-"

What was the point of speaking if Harry and Eden were in their own world.

Harry held her face, whispering to her, but Hermione could not make out what it was that he was exactly saying to her.

"GUYS! Eden... If you are not going to take this seriously I have other things to do. I need to help Ginny pick her dress for the ball tonight and I will need to do her makeup as well."

"I think it best if you go start on that-" Harry started.

"Harry..." Eden gave him a look and smiled, looking at Hermione. "I appreciate your help, which is why Harry, you must leave, I have taken time out of Hermione's day to help me perfect this and if I do not succeed I will not be able to find a job."

Harry's mouth opened wide looking between the two of them. "I cannot believe you are choosing to work as a dancer. There is so much more you could be... So much more you can do-"

"I think it is time Harry makes his exit... Goodbye Harry!"

Hermione was petty today. 

How fun that was going to be for everyone tonight at the ball.

Once Harry exited the room Eden got back on her toes, practicing her pointe.

"The audacity of that boy! I personally think your goal for the future is amazing. You are a phenomenal dancer... Alright let us get back to your pointe. Up on your toes. I want to see how long you can hold for."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Have you heard anything Eden? Anything that could help us?" Harry mumbled as they sat on the grass outside of the Weasleys home. Their hands were tangled together while they watched the sun make it's final appearance before the night came to overtake it.

Eden looked deeply into the sky as if it were a person.

"No. I have not. I am rarely ever around Lucius when I am at the manor. The same goes for Draco. I have barely even spoken to him since I arrived. I wish you could come with me. It's dreadful there even if I'm only staying for the break."

"How about Narcissa? Is she not nice?"

"She is delightful, but she is never home when I am. I'm quite lonely there."

Eden leaned against his shoulder while Harry's hand slid out from her's and instead wrapped an arm around her shoulder, giving her the best comfort he could.

"I think this break is going to run on for months. I don't think we'll be going back to Hogwarts... Ever. What happened with Dumbledore was no accident Eden. I was there. That was only the beginning and it was not the worst that is going to happen to us. I don't know how Malfoy isn't in Azkaban right about now..."

Eden chose to not say anything in return. The last thing she wanted to do was think about the world she was living in crumbling before her without being able to do anything to help.

The warmth from the sun felt amazing on her cold skin. It could have given her goosebumps.

There was a sudden crack from behind them, but they did not bother to look knowing who was going to be standing behind them. It could only be one person. One person neither of them wanted to see.

"Abella."

For fucks sake...

Her head rose off of Harry and his arm slowly slid off of her when she stood, leaving Harry alone.

"Hello Malfoy."

"Wait Eden." Harry rose from the floor and grabbed her arm, spinning her around and bringing his lips to hers passionately for a goodbye.

Through the kiss, Eden could hear Draco scoff which only made her want to kiss Harry longer, make him more upset and uncomfortable than he already was... 

He deserved it anyway.

Once Harry pulled away he looked into Eden's eyes, seeing the reflection of the setting sun in them. "I'll see you later on tonight."

Eden nodded her head and finally separated from Harry, making her way toward Draco who grabbed her arm without warning and apparated away from the burrow and back to the manor.

She had no time to prepare.

She stumbled over almost falling to the floor but she caught herself before she could.

How embarrassing that would have been for her.

Almost right when their feet landed Draco took off into another room, but she had missed it because of how disoriented she was when they arrived. For a moment she thought she was alone in the foyer of the cold home, but the only voice she associated with family suddenly chimed.

"Oh Eden! Did you come here on your own?"

"Your son came to grab me. He's taken off though. I'm not sure where."

"Not to worry. Let's get you ready hmm? This is going to be the party of the year and you are going to be the most beautiful girl in there."

How was she supposed to react to that aside from an awkward smile and a little laugh.

Thankfully, Narcissa was not looking for a thought to begin with. She reached out and grabbed ahold of Eden's cold hand, bringing her up to her room where she would be helping her get ready for the party.

After a few hours Narcissa had successfully braided her hair into a crown that went around her head and done her makeup simple yet elegant. 

Until the moment she brought out the dress, Eden had no clue what it looked like, but when she saw it she was definitely surprised.

It was not flashy nor colourful, yet it looked so gorgeous. 

It was black, not completely skin tight, which she had asked for, and went to the floor.

Any dress Narcissa pulled out for Eden would have made her happy seeing as she always took Eden's thoughts and wants into account while styling and making her dresses. 

That's right. 

Narcissa made all of Eden's dresses, from top to bottom and embroidered/sewed every little detail too. She insisted and never took no for an answer.

Before the two of them could leave the large master bedroom, Narcissa let Eden admire herself; Allowing her take a moment to see herself in the mirror and take in everything she was wearing.

"You look just like your mother... She would have loved to see you looking like this. I just know it."

Eden smiled softly and ran her hand along her bare chest. The dullness of not having any jewelry on it made her look boring, but it didn't mind. She was not looking to impress anyone but Harry, who she could have impressed if she walked into a room with a shaved head.

By the time Eden and Narcissa exited the room it was completely dark outside and was just on time to catch the car they would be taking to the party.

Draco and Lucius already left.

That was not surprising in the slightest. 

Lucius made it his duty to keep her and his son far away from each other, only letting them speak if it was absolutely necessary, like today when he was tasked to go pick her up from the Weasleys.

Eden knew it was a task because never in his life would Draco Malfoy voluntarily go to the burrow. He let it be known he had despised the Weasleys with his whole heart or better yet, his whole being.

Since it was just the two girls in the car, it did make the rides less tense. 

At least they could speak more fluently with each other instead of with the judgement of two boys in there. 

One who hated Eden and the other, told to never speak with her.

Such a daddy's boy...

On the ride to the house there was not much conversation between the two girls.

Only occasionally would Narcissa try to make small talk, but never Eden. 

No, she was too introverted to do that, even if she was speaking to someone who had practically raised her.

When they arrived the rain was coming down. It was October after all. This kind of weather was unavoidable.

The two of them had to rush inside not to get caught in it, but the round about where they were dropped off was not too far from the door anyway so it was not that big of a problem.

It took Eden a moment to catch herself before she had a chance to look around that the house surrounding her, but when she did she was amazed. 

The floor was marble, the curtains were a dark green and the place was HUGE.

Who's house was this again... The Greengrass'? 

She thought she heard someone mutter that name in the past days that she had been staying with the Malfoy's.

"Eden! Come over here!" Hermione caught her attention and waved her hand as a sign to come over. 

Harry and Ron were standing beside her, but the twins were no where to be seen, that was until she felt two hands jab into her sides and startle her.

Eden whipped around and saw Fred standing tall above her, his hands up in defence just waiting for her to hit him back and tell him how immature he was.

"Wow. You look... Nice, don't you."

"Oh shut it Fred."

Eden walked right into Harry's awaiting arms with a smile on her face as he held her close, putting his hand on the back of her hair lightly to not mess it up and let her lean her head against his chest for a few seconds. He took the opportunity to give her a kiss on the top of her head.

"You look absolutely gorgeous Eden. Your dress. It is beautiful-"

"Yeah. You look great Eden." Ron chimed in earning a glare from Hermione.

So overprotective that one was.

It made Eden smile.

"What?! I was just telling her she looks nice..."

"How was it at the manor. Did you tell Narcissa about your... Audition."

Here he goes again.

So against her dream.

It would have been fine if Harry put the least bit of effort it took to hide the way he really felt about the situation, but he let her know.

Harry did not like this passion of hers.

How rude of him to do that...

And out of everyone she thought he would be the most supportive.

Eden gave a blank stare and a small but fake smile crooked the edged of her lips up.

"No Harry. I actually have not. Narcissa does not need to know yet. It does not concern her either. I will do it on my own... Seeing as you will not want to take part in it anyway."

"Of course I want to take part in it-"

"Well you are not acting like it. The night just started. I do not want to fight. Let's move on."

Harry mumbled a quick "Fine" and rubbed his eyebrow, looking toward the dance floor.

Many girls already paired up with guys from the start of the night. Now they waltzed around the dance floor, trying to find their soulmates...

As if they would be here in this room.

There are 5 billion people in this world and they think the one will be in this room.

Eden found it quite pathetic...

What was the point in doing all this if you ended up getting together with a muggle?

It was not her matter to worry about though.

Luckily for her, Eden found her soulmate in 3rd period potions class in her third year at Hogwarts.

How amazing that was, to see the colour all of her friends were speaking of.

The night progressed extremely slow.

Every time Eden looked at the grand clock that hung above the ballroom it would have only moved 10-20 minutes.

The thing was, this was not how she wanted to be spending her birthday.

No one would have wanted to spend their birthday like this...

Especially if everyone forgot.

It was okay for Hermione and Ron to forget, even Ginny, Fred and George. That was understandable, but Harry, her own boyfriend.

Her own soulmate.

That hurt the most.

The louder it got in the room, the more quiet Eden became, slipping behind Harry to avoid the unwanted attention of guys or pureblood's speaking illy of her...

She could only imagine the things they were saying.

Probably along the lines of, "I cannot understand how a pureblood like her could be with such a disgrace. Such a traitor to her kind." It was always like that.

It hurt more if she heard it directly, but knowing the things they were speaking of still made her stomach flip.

It actually hurt more because by being associated with Harry, that brought a bad reputation to the Malfoy's...

Perhaps that was why Lucius hated her so much. Because if all the things people now thought of the family all because of her.

Eventually the noise was too much for her to handle. The guests filled up the room to the point that it felt like she was being pushed into the corner.

"I'll be back Harry."

She mumbled.

She couldn't even speak properly.

Her head started spinning but the cool October air was enough to calm her down almost immediately after she stepped out.

She exited through the back... Most likely not even allowed here.

Eden took in a deep breath. Her hand shooting up to her chest to try and control her air intake and then, she began to take a few of those big breaths until she could feel the tension in her begin to crumble as she gained control once again.

How odd.

That happened out of nowhere.

Literally.

All she was doing was standing. It happened so fast too.

Why?

"You should not be out here Abella."

Of course. Just who I need to see right now...

"Malfoy please, for once just leave when I ask you to. Please."

"I actually came out here to speak with you."

Huh?

Speak with her?

What could he possibly want to speak about with her right now.

How random.

Eden's whole body turned to face the boy when she heard his shoes crunch the grass under them when he took his steps.

"It's your birthday is it not?"

In Draco's hand which he stuck out in front of her was a box. It was not wrapped and it had no logo on it. It was just a plain white box.

"That's for me?" Her eyes met his.

"Well obviously. Take it."

Fighting off the urge to smile was unbelievably difficult.

This was hilarious.

It had to be some kind of joke.

How could everyone including her closest friends forget her birthday, but the boy she rarely ever laid eyes on was giving her a box for her birthday.

Even if it was a piece of ripped up parchment she would have cherished it as if it were something real.

"Open it now..."

Draco added and put his hand in his pocket.

Eden looked toward her hands while she positioned them on the box and slowly opened it up almost dropping it onto the floor from how shocked she was.

The most she was expecting was a ring and not a good one at that. The ones you buy in the gift shops of stores. She was completely overwhelmed with what was actually in the box.

Her hands dragged over the thin chain and then over the charm.

This looked familiar.

This necklace looked extremely familiar...

It was almost like he read her mind, opening his mouth and speaking while she took it out of the box and held it in her hand.

"It was your mothers... My mom found it the other day and I thought it would have been a nice thing to give you for your birthday."

Eden was in utter disbelief. Her mouth could not even open to make a noise as she stared at the charm.

A heart with wings and a halo tilted to the right side. It was on her mom's neck in almost every picture Eden had of her.

It was her mother's favourite.

She was too young when her mother died to have any memory of the necklace, but it felt so nostalgic that it made up for her lost memories.

"You were the only one..."

"What?" Draco furrowed his brows slightly looking at Eden in confusion.

"...You were the only one who remembered my birthday."

Her eyes met his once again and a thin glossy layer coated her eye. He could see it from the reflection of the moon and lights from the house in her eyes.

Suddenly a voice from out of no where startled the both of them. They looked back toward the door to see Harry, getting closer and closer until he was beside the two.

"What is this?"

God, even Harry seemed so small compared to Draco. The boy was tall, that was for sure, but his muscles. Harry did not even come close when it came to that. He was fit, but not ripped.

"It is pathetic of you to have forgotten your own girlfriends birthday, Potter."

Here they go...

Eden looked down and took a step back. In the moment, she had not realized how close she came to Draco. Just another step forward and she would have been stepping on his toes.

What was she really expecting? Harry was too proper to fight at a party like this and even if they had, it was clear he would have lost... No offence to Harry, but comparing the two, it was kind of obvious.

"OH SHIT! Eden! Eden oh my god!" Harry began to grab her, starting at her shoulders, running his hands down her arms and to her hands until he held hers in his. His hands felt so warm against her own, but the feeling she was feeling did not portray the same.

No.

Now not only were her hands cold, but so was her emotion.

Cold as ice.

She was angry. Who wouldn't be if the person who claimed to love you so much forgot one of the most special days in your life.

Draco backed away, watching Harry unfold right in front of him. The amount of emotion he was letting out, screaming at her as if it would change what he had already done.

When Eden looked back to her left, he was gone...

Draco was gone.

He slipped away before she even had the chance to say thank you.

"Let go of me Harry. Go back inside. I need a second out here..."


	18. Chapter 18

Her heart was racing, beating out of her chest. Though she was still not awake, she could feel it pounding.

Suddenly her eyes shot open.

The light of the outdoors was enough to blind her when her eyes first opened, but the light was cast away for the curtains shut.

How long was she out for?

Better yet, what the hell did she dream of?

"How are you feeling?"

There it was.

The cold, serious, voice she hated the most.

Though something felt off now.

After her dream.

The coldness did not seem as cold anymore. The seriousness was there, but it felt like it held no more meaning.

The bed sank and when she opened her eyes for the second time, she realized where she was.

Back in her room.

Back in the bed she never left.

Back in the place she stayed for almost 24 hours each day.

Eden's eyes met the icy blue ones of Draco Malfoy...

How odd.

She did not fear saying his name anymore, but that was a serious upgrade. How could she have been so afraid to utter his name even if it was in her own private thoughts. Maybe it was because she knew Voldemort would always find them.

He would listen...

Eden did not like that.

It was bad enough he knew that she did not call him by his preferred name... 'The Dark Lord.'

That was never going to happen.

"How are you feeling?" He asked again more firmly wanting an answer from the girl.

His lips were pressed into a line, no expression, no sign of actual concern. Perhaps it was under the heavy emotional mask he put on in front of her.

"My neck hurts a little."

The pain kept coming and going with every few breaths she took. She reached up, attempting to hold the wound.

She could remember what happened.

That was about it.

Who had saved her slipped her mind, but she remembered she saw someone. She remembered thinking it was an angel coming to take her to... The afterlife.

Draco reached out and grabbed Eden's wrist gently, but still roughly and pulled it back down.

"Don't touch it. You'll make it worse if you do. Vampire bites react more to touch. It had something to do with their venom... I hardly remember, just do not touch your neck."

"Is my eye... Is my eye swollen?"

It was hard to open it fully and since she could not see herself, she was stuck asking Malfoy for the answers to her questions.

"It's doing better compared to last week."

A week?!

It's been a week and she'd just been sleeping this entire time? She probably missed New Years...

"What year are we in?"

"Still 1999."

Eden looked up at the ceiling, the stars catching her attention again as she started to remember the dream of which she just had.

The stars looked like they were twinkling, but it could have just been because she'd had nothing to eat or drink in a couple days.

"Point! Point your foot Eden!.. GOOD, good now keep it like that. Keep on your toes Eden!"

It echoed through her head for a moment. Hermione's sharp voice repeating those words as if it would make any difference to begin with.

As she looked up at the painting, he observed her, taking in her soft skin, her confused look, her puffy lips, her small nose scrunching up ever so slightly. He knew this look of her's all to well.

"What are you thinking about Abella?"

Her eyes narrowed toward him.

Glad to know they were still on a last name basis...

"I'm thinking of ballet."

The mask almost fell as those words left her mouth. He noticeably gulped, but thankfully Eden was not paying attention to catch him in the act of doing so. It looked like he just softened, not only in his face but in his body language.

Draco relaxed his shoulders and released his jaw from the hold it was in. "What about it?"

"Hermione Granger. I had a dream, though it felt more like a flashback or something. She was teaching me ballet at the burrow... She kept yelling at me to point and keep the hold..."

That was the night of the party... The night he gifted her the... The necklace.

"I need a moment." Draco stood quickly and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him and walking across the hall.

He rested his back and ran his hands through his hair stressfully.

Had she really remembered.

No.

She could not have...

She had probably only dreamt of her memories with Hermione. Nothing to do with the necklace. The words Draco whispered into her ear when he thought she would die had no effect on her dream.

It was impossible.

It was just mere coincidence that right when he mentioned the necklace she dreamt of that day. The events leading up to it.

No.

He had to know. He had to know if she knew, if she had even the slightest thought from her past about him or about their relationship.

It was not an option.

He had to pry it out of her.

Every last detail.

NO.

He would come off too strong all of a sudden. He could not let his guard down now because of some silly words she had just mumbled to him. For all he knew it could have really been a dream and not a memory...

But it just made so much sense-

"NO!" Draco slammed his fist against the wall causing himself a great big gash on his knuckles. One enough to tear his skin off and start bleeding profusely.

The feelings he felt toward her were becoming too much. He either needed to distance himself or lock her in the room, but one option outweighed the other.

He would not lock Eden in that room even if he felt the way he did. Something that hurt more than watching her forget him was seeing her suffering.

Tissy suddenly appeared beside him but he didn't hear her apparate nor did he even notice when she stepped closer.

The hand on his calf was what did it for him. His attention turned toward the small house elf, looking at her, waiting for her to speak up.

"Is master alright? Tissy senses that master is very upset."

"I am upset." Draco groaned. 

He dropped down to the floor and with his knee's up to his chest and observed his bleeding knuckles.

It started off small, but now that he was really focused on the blood trickling down his wrist and soaking up into his black shirt, the cut seemed like so much more.

"But I do not need your pity Tissy. I am fine. Now I must go back in Eden- Abella's room."

Her name slipped off Draco's tongue so easily... That was why when he corrected himself he said it harshly, enough to make Tissy jump.

"I'm sorry master... Tissy shall not come back."

How harsh he had been... 

It was already eating him up.

The house elf disappeared before he could apologize for his behaviour, but it was not like this was something new. Draco always took his anger out on people and before Eden arrived he was always alone with Tissy.

This is no way for a man to be conducting himself.

Draco thought as he stood from the floor. 

He straightened himself up and unrolled the sleeve of his left arm to cover the blood dripping out of his left hand. After doing so, he walked back into the bedroom and all the emotion that was just on his face— if there was any to begin with— left. 

He had the blank expression on once again. 

Very serious...

"I'm sorry. That was very bad of me."

"I'm not too sure why you're apologizing to me Malfoy. From what I know you have not been kind to me thus far. What has changed? Is it because I almost died? Listen, as much as I love the attention this is not normal and I do not need you to give me special treatment just because I got a few holes in my neck-"

"They are not a few holes Abella!"

Here he goes...

"You could have died! You best be thanking me because had I not found you, you would be buried under snow right now, slowly rotting away and only in the spring would I have found your bloody body!"

That shut her up right away.

Eden's expression fell and all she could do was stare. Stare at the man sitting on the edge of her bed, getting mad at her for almost dying... As if he cared or something. That was what really confused her.

Of course as he did everything else, he would have covered it up, telling Eden or anyone that asked that he only saved her or helped her because he did not want to get into trouble with the Dark Lord, but it was obvious by how worked up he got that it was more than just that.

It might have played a huge role in it, but that was not the only reason.

He cared.

And Eden had no clue why...


	19. Chapter 19

Eden took this quiet moment while staring at him to decide whether or not she should have told him she remembered.

She remembered him giving her the necklace she had on.

What would he have done though...

Probably freak out and yell at her, telling her that she was stupid for ever thinking such a thing happened in her life.

That was what was drawing her not to tell him, but what did she really have to lose? Being yelled at is far better than anything else that happened to her in the past few days. She could handle it even if it did hurt her feelings.

"You gave me this necklace."

"What?"

It was all in his eyes.

Once Draco's eyes fell and twitched slightly Eden knew she cracked him.

"On my birthday two years ago, you gave me this necklace. You were the only one who remembered my birthday. You told me it was my mothers and that you thought it would make an exceptional gift. It was at the Greengrass mansion. There was a party and-"

Draco shut her up quickly.

He did not want to hear anything else come from her because if he allowed her to go on, he would have given it all away.

That would cause a huge problem as Eden only had this one memory, not all of their memories together.

Eden would be confused.

She would not know what the hell happened in the past and her cracking the code would result in an even messier mess.

Draco would not let that happen.

She was already too deep into the fake story she created in her head after Snape did what he did, that he could not go and change it now.

"That's quite enough Abella. I asked what you said not for the whole fucking story."

She turned to her side in order to block him out once again.

Had it only been a dream? 

Did any of that stuff actually happen?

It seemed like he was not fazed by what she said... 

Just annoyed. 

Perhaps it was all a dream. 

Nothing Hermione told her, nothing she did with Harry... Everything in that dream she just had was a bunch of bullshit.

Her head turned back, looking down at the white sheet on the bed.

Blood was stained on it and not old blood... New blood.

Eden thought she saw it before she turned over, she just didn't really think about it until right then.

Her eyes trailed over to his hand which was clenching into a fist and holding the black shirt tighter around his wound to hide what he did to himself out in the hallway

That was not enough though.

The moment Eden's eyes went up to Draco's, he looked down at the blood on the sheet.

"I'll tell Tissy to bring you a clean sheet... My apologies."

"What have you done-"

Before she could finish a familiar face barged into the room unannounced. "Oh Eden! I thought you would have died!" Pansy came running to the other side of the bed and tilted Eden's head up slightly with her index finger.

Draco reached up and slapped Pansy's hand away from her.

"Ouch Draco!"

"Do not touch her. If she's going to heal she'll do it the right way. With you putting your hands all over her she will be sure to expect an infection."

"Would it make you feel better if I washed my fucking hands?"

Eden turned her head to the side to hide the obvious smirk on her lips. 

It was as if Pansy was saying everything Eden wished she could. 

The difference between her and Pansy though, was that Pansy could say whatever she wanted without any consequence. 

Eden on the other hand would get herself into deep trouble had she said anything like Pansy.

It was annoying that she could not express herself, but she was doing enough of that through her actions that she knew Malfoy would get the gist.

"Keep your hands off or else you will not have hands to touch her with." Draco stood from the bed and walked to the door, turning back one last time. "I'm being completely serious Pansy. Leave her be."

"I get it. You're very serious... You can go now."

He glared at her for a moment before he left due to Pansy completely disregarding the look. 

The moment he shut the door Eden opened up like a can of beans. 

Everything Pansy asked Eden told. 

Everything that happened the night of the attack, aside from the part where Draco danced with her while she was drunk. 

She would never tell a soul. 

Eden knew he would be ashamed had he been reminded of what he did.

Then she opened up about her dream. 

Every detail, including the part about Draco and her at the Greengrass party to which Pansy did not act so surprised, but tried to make it seem like that anyway. 

Pansy nodded her head, listening to everything she said.

Eden was beginning to dread the day Pansy would leave. She would be alone yet again and a house elf is not someone you usually go to with this kind of information.

When Pansy left that would mean Eden was to keep to herself again. 

Not eat, not drink, not even get out of bed. 

That was what it would go back to. 

The panic attacks would come back. 

All this safeness she felt with her would be stripped away like everything else and who knew if Pansy would ever come back.

Although Pansy did seem cruel at first, she proved herself to be the only one who cared. 

No matter what Eden said.

Perhaps it was something she missed when she used to hate her back at Hogwarts. 

Since Eden spent most of the time thinking of how awful Pansy Parkinson was, she missed how kind she truly was... Well you learn something new every day she supposed.

"I remember you doing ballet. You were very good at it back then."

"How could you have remembered? I never danced at Hogwarts. You've never seen me dance-"

"The Cape Caper performance during 5th year. Do you remember if or was that taken away too when you hit your head? You had a solo. It was to Swan Lake. I was there because my father owned the theatre you performed at."

What was she talking about?

What was Cape Caper?

Had she really gotten a solo?

This was so upsetting. 

That was probably one of the most life changing experiences of Eden's life and now she could only be reminded of it through stories by someone she rarely even knew. 

It was peculiar how Pansy knew so much more about her than she herself did.

Stinging in her eyes... 

Eden was on the verge of tears.

"Have I upset you?"

"C-Can you tell me. Was Harry there?"

Pursing her lips together and getting more comfortable on the bed, Pansy fixed herself in a way that one leg hung off the side of the bed while the other was crossed and under her thigh. She was completely facing toward Eden now, looking into her fast becoming red eyes.

"Harry was there. So was Fred and George Weasley. Ron, Hermione... All your friends. I saw them from all the way up in the box seats."

All her friends really went. All her friends really cared.

"Do you remember if they liked it."

"They loved it Eden. Harry brought you red roses. Hermione brought you black ballet shoes. You cried. I remember that much from when I snuck backstage with a few of my friends and I'll admit it was because we were trying to make fun of you... But that was when we were younger... That was before the war started."

The war.

"Before everything went into lock down..."

Eden completely blocked out Pansy at that point because with her speaking, she could not focus on the thought that was trying so hard to poke out from behind the invisible wall she had up in her mind.

Come on. It cannot be that hard. Just let it through...

"You did amazing Eden. You looked so great up there. Really. I'm so fucking proud. I love you."

Harry said that to her... Harry said that to her on the day of the performance...

"P-Pansy?" Eden choked out while a tear went down her cheek.

Pansy looked at Eden's red face, then to her hands which clamped onto each other tightly as a way to stop herself from freaking out and losing it right in front of the girl sitting on her bed.

It was not her problem. 

She should not have to see the outcome.

Although she did not say anything, Eden knew she was listening and spoke without her blessing.

"I need you to leave. I need a moment. I-I'm sorry."

Just get out!

Eden wanted her gone before she absolutely let it all out.

Pansy would not understand. That was what made it awkward.

The girl would never understand what it is like to have all these memories in the back of her mind... 

All the memories of her friends and boyfriend and family that were just stuck in the back. 

She would never understand the feeling that Eden felt constantly, as if all the memories in her head were a coverup. 

It was probably just because of how much brain damage the clock tower falling on her had caused.

The only memories she wanted right then were of Hermione. She wanted to remember her, remember the way it felt when she hugged her, cried with her, laughed with her, fought with her. Out of everyone in the whole world she could have never turned on Hermione. 

Eden loved her platonically. 

The amount of stuff she wished she could have remembered of her. The talks they had late at night on the fire escape of Eden's... Eden's...

Her memory was failing her yet again, but this time she could not hold back her tears.


	20. Chapter 20

"Please just... Just go Pansy. I'm sorry."

Pansy understood the girl was feeling sad and even if she did not understand why just yet, she would respect her wishes.

If Eden wanted her to leave, she would leave, but she would be back of course. She did not plan on leaving Eden anytime soon, no matter if Draco kicked her out of the house or not.

Without a word Pansy left the room allowing Eden to really let out all of her emotion.

Despite Malfoy repeatedly telling her to rest, Eden stood. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

How could she be so stupid?

How could she have forgotten everything that happened with her closest friends.?

At that point she was basically a vegetable.

What memories did she really have if she could not remember such important events in her life such as a solo performance in a ballet show.

"God... God fuck!"

Her hand whipped the glass cup on the counter to the side and it fell straight to the floor, not breaking.

This was not a surprise to Eden, but it left her feeling worse then she already did.

She felt like a child. Like a literal 1 year old.

Everything was 'baby proofed' and she had no access to her powers.

She felt useless, pathetic, out of options...

This feeling had been growing inside of her for months, but every time it broke the surface she had enough control to contain it. But not now. Not anymore.

Eden fell to her knee's and reached for the cup once again.

"Fucking break! Just fucking break!" She chucked it roughly toward the wall hoping for anything, even a scratch.

Again, nothing.

From another person's perspective it would have looked like she was losing her mind, going insane, talking to inanimate objects and maybe that was the case, but she was not yet crazy.

Eden was just hurting.

She was upset.

Her hands were shaking violently as was her entire body. Even the heavy inhales and exhales of air she took in and out were shaky, that is what made them ineffective.

It felt like the weight of the world was collapsing onto her right now and she was trying so desperately to keep it on her shoulders.

"What the fuck!" She smacked her hand so hard against the bathtub that it sent a painfully harsh pinch through her finger, then to her hand and halfway up her arm where it stopped and died off, not getting any further.

With all of her adrenaline rushing through her— all the anger and rage and sadness tied into one emotion— she failed to even realize that she broke her right ring finger.

Eden began to hit her finger repeatedly against the edge of the tub with no goal in mind. She just did it over and over again until she finally began to feel the pain through the rest of her emotions.

Her back flew toward the wall as she slumped down, hiccuping and sobbing like a maniac.

Eden told herself again and again that she was pathetic. That she was no longer a person. That she no longer knew herself. She was just an empty soul living in this body that she used to know and be familiar with.

This was called dissociating.

She was losing touch with herself and her memories. She was feeling disconnected from her own body. She was feeling unplugged from the world around her.

Basically, for better words, she felt like nothing.

There are no words to describe nothing...

Eden locked eyes with the bathtub.

Do it.

She told herself,

Do it. Fill up the bathtub and fucking do it. Drown yourself. It will be better in the long run.

The thing was. This time there was nothing holding her back because not even herself could handle this anymore. If the vampire could not do it, she would just do it herself.

Eden grabbed hold of the handle and pulled it until the water started. She didn't care if it was hot or cold. She just needed the water.

With blurry, tear filled eyes, she walked to the mirror in the bathroom looking at the mess she just made of herself, then looked toward the floor to see everything that she wiped down onto it when she swatted her hand for the cup.

Hair ties, hairpins, a brush, everything you would need to get ready in the morning aside from makeup.

As the tub was reaching the point Eden needed in order for it to work effectively she looked at herself one last time...

Taking in her hair, her body, her face, although she did not even look like herself anymore.

After she did that she stepped into the tub fully clothed and without taking another breath in, she laid back in the warm water putting both her hands on either side and holding tightly to make sure she did not bring herself back up for air or even float back to the surface.

The lack of air was already getting to her.

She struggled to breath, or rather her body did because she could not have given less of a shit about the air getting into her lungs at that moment.

The feeling only lasted for a second before someone wrapped their arms around her shoulder and dragged her out of the water, pulling her against him. She leaned her back against the tub and her head rested on his chest as his grip on her only got tighter.

"What have you done!" He shouted loudly at the girl in his arms, who was beginning to cry from where she left off.

You can't cry underwater because of the lack of air so when Eden dunked herself in she stopped, but again, only briefly until he had come to pull her out.

Pansy stood at the door with a hand to her mouth and frozen in place.

"What the fuck have you done!" He shouted again still not letting go of her. This touch was the only way he could feel her and if he let her go he would lose her...

Acting as if she wasn't already lost.

It might have sounded like he was shouting out of anger, but that was not the case at all.

He was shouting out of fear.

The fear of losing her to something so stupid like this. If... If he had not put the charm over her room. The charm that allowed him to know when she was struggling, when she was in danger, he would have never known. He would have walked in here and found her floating head down in the water.

Draco dragged her out of the water and onto the floor with him adjusting his hands to her arms.

He positioned her in a way that she was facing him. He needed to see her face if he was going to help her in anyway.

"Look at me. Look at me Eden."

That caught her attention, but only enough to get a glance between her sobs and heavy breaths.

"Can you breathe? Breathe with me. We'll do it together."

He made his breaths more noticeable for Eden to hear and kept his patience until she caught on, moving her hands to his upper arms and holding them tightly until she was back to normal breathing wise, in which her grip loosened, but she did not let go.

With her breathing back in order it was easier for her to come back, but since Draco didn't know what triggered this outburst just yet, he was surely going to pry and try to find out which did not put her at ease at all.

"Her finger is broken Draco."

Eden swore she could have lashed out at Pansy right now for no apparent reason why. 

She was only trying to help. 

She just wanted Eden to be safe, but the small devil controlling her right now was trying to make her get angry or throw something at her, do anything. But she was gaining her control back. 

It was easier to push that thought away now.

"Let me see."

That fact that he asked yet grabbed her wrist anyway was hilarious. 

What the hell was the point of asking then?

"Christ..."

His cold, blue eyes looked more black than anything when he saw it.

Her finger was already blue and purple and bent completely out of shape. Eden was lucky Malfoy was good with this type of stuff and that it did not upset him or make him feel sick because if that were the case this would have been going completely different right about now. 

With his wand in hand he cast a bone removal spell and then cast a bone regrowth spell.

"That is going to take a few days to actually heal. Now get up. You will change and get back into that bed of yours. I'm not leaving until you're asleep and even then I'll stay-"

Pansy spoke over him suddenly, chiming in from the door. "I can help too."

Eden could feel him tense up from his grip and then looked over and saw him clench his jaw right before he gave Pansy the worst, most nastiest, stare on earth.

"I think you've done quite enough for today Pansy. Doesn't your daughter need her mother?"

"I'm sorry Draco. If I had known she would get like this I wouldn't have asked her anything to begin with. Surely you do not think this is my fault-"

"Well whatever happened has happened!" Draco exclaimed while raising his voice so loudly the room shook. "I told you she had panic attacks. I told you to watch what you say to her, but you never fucking listen! Save your apologies and get OUT. Now."

Draco could not have been any clearer. 

He was upset and angry with his friend. 

She had said something to upset Eden. Though even Eden thought that he was being too harsh on her. 

How could Pansy have ever known what would cause such a horrible outburst like this.

Straight away Pansy apparated out of the room which left Eden and Draco alone in the bathroom.

He was doing it again without even realizing. He was showing his emotion...

It was all told through his eyes. 

He did not mask those because if you were to cover the holes of a mask the mask would have been useless...


	21. Chapter 21

Eden laid in her bed, her back turned to Malfoy as usual. She had not said a word to him since he found her.

Quite frankly, the girl was embarrassed. How could she not be, she just had a manic episode in front of two strangers.

For the whole three hours Draco sat in that chair in the corner of the room, his eyes did not leave her. He did not grab a book, or write a paper, or read the Daily Prophet...

He just sat and watched her.

The thing was she could not fall asleep.

That would have been nearly impossible since she had just woken up from a long slumber just a few hours ago.

With a audible sigh, Draco placed his feet flat on the ground and leaned his elbows on his knee's, leaning in closer with his eyes still locked on her unmoving body. His stare was so hard and focused that Eden could feel it burning into her back.

Then, there was the sudden noise of the floor creaking as if he was getting closer and closer until he was.

Draco was standing right behind her, peering over her slightly to make sure she was still awake. He conjured up a cup of water and held his hand out just enough for Eden to catch it in the corner of her eye.

"You're dehydrated. Drink."

"I don't want it."

The blanket got pulled over her head and she shifted more to the side of the bed furtherest away from Draco.

The girl didn't even bother looking back at him. Eden did not care enough to see his judgement which she knew he would be wearing on his face.

"Bloody hell!"

He sat and pulled the sheet off of her just for her to pull it back over her head again and grip it tightly with her hand so that when he tried to do it for the second time he would be unsuccessful, but he did not try again.

Instead he placed the water down on the counter and looked over at the pile of sheets that hid Eden from his view.

Somewhere in there he knew she was listening even if she pretended she was not.

"I punched a wall. That was why my hand was bleeding earlier. I remember you asked me."

The silence was loud when he took a pause as if he was waiting for her to say something...

Anything back to him.

But there was nothing and for a moment he could not even hear her breathing.

"I punched it because I was upset with you-"

Oh how lovely.

Eden thought and cringed from under the blankets.

"You were talking about your necklace. Would you like to go on?"

"No."

"Well why not?" There was a tinge of annoyance and frustration added to that phrase Draco spoke to her.

"I don't want to."

Was that so hard for him to understand? 

She did not wish to speak meaning she did not intend to do so no matter what...

But as Eden learned in the past, Draco has a way with getting what he wants and although she always tried to overcome his wants with her own power, she did not feel so powerful right now.

Why would she stop herself now.

Maybe it would make her feel better?

Who knew?

It was worth a shot.

"It was at the Greengrass mansion... We were at a party. When I got there you had already left with your father. I arrived later on. Probably the last one to arrive there with Narcissa. Up until then everyone had forgotten about my birthday and I was upset despite Fred teasing my sides like a taser and Harry showering me with kisses. I backed up into a corner of the room feeling the way I did until I just walked out of the room and you followed. You gave me this necklace because it was my mothers..."

"I did do that didn't I."

This was such an odd question to ask, but now that she was on the topic... Eden sat up, turning to lean her back against the pillows.

"Is there something you have not told me? Did we know each other?"

Oh how badly Draco just wanted to let her know. He could imagine it in his head right now. Had he said yes perhaps all the memories would come back to her.

She would remember every time they kissed, every time they snuck off together, every time they fought, every time they made love. Everything would come back to her.

But he also realized that it was one big fantasy he made up in his head.

This was not some type of fairytale. Draco knew that when he allowed Snape to obliviate her this would happen, but why was it hurting him so much more than he anticipated.

It had been a year and a half, almost two years. That was enough time for him to move on and accept the reality of what he did, but the moment his father sent Eden to his house it all went downhill and every feeling he felt at the beginning of their separation came back.

It took him so long to finally go down into the basement and look at her again.

It was not easy.

That's why he left her there.

Draco had Tissy bring up daily reports on her health and only went down again when he realized she was trying to kill herself... The first time.

"You stayed with us for a few days. My father kicked you out after my mother passed away and you found a place to stay... After that I did not have a clue of what you were doing or if you were still alive."

"Oh... I see."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a few hours and a dinner later, the sky fell dark.

The lights were out in her room and Eden found herself asleep in minutes after she actually shut her eyes and tried.

It was cold in her room tonight.

Maybe it was because the coldest man she knew was sitting in the corner of it refusing to leave, though it was reasonable and she knew it.

If she was in Malfoy's position and her life could be put at risk because of a stupid mistake a stupid girl like her made, she would be worried too.

When she finally hit the hay, her mind was blank and empty, body numb as she laid there, covering her face with her arm like she always did.

The same hand she felt almost every night before the party was back, but Eden was still too deep into her sleep to wake herself up and find out who it was that was doing this to her.

As her mind ran wild with thoughts she brought up the fact that she might have been haunted by Harry, who would come every night to make sure she was okay or any of her other friends like Fred and Hermione.

She was the closest with them if she really thought about it.

Everyone else was just a friend...

Nothing more nothing less.

The hand on her cheek outstretched and their fingers combed though her already messy hair. Even in her sleep Eden could feel how good it felt against her scalp which throbbed in pain from a headache.

"You're too much Eden. I miss you."

It echoed through her head.

That was not a memory.

That was not a quote someone said to her that she just remembered in her head.

That was a real person who was speaking real words to her.

Who was it?

Who the hell was doing this?!

Eden moved in her sleep as his hand massaged through her stands of hair being so gentle and soft with the way he was doing it. She began to nuzzle her head closer to his side as Draco brushed kept brushing through her soft hair.

That always used to comfort her.

If it did back then it definitely would now.

This felt like déjà vu to him.

They definitely dis this in the past.

Eden sleeping, his hand rubbing gently back and forth on her head.

That was when everything was normal.

When everything was right...

When he still had her-

No.

Now was not the time or place for this.

His hand left her head as he stood, walking back to his place on the chair in the corner of the room.

Draco did not care how long he would need to sit there. He was not going to leave for anything if he knew she was going to be alone for even a second.

The thing that hurt him was that she did not quite enjoy his presence. He was just enough to make her not panic.

The boy was sure that if he let Pansy in here, Eden would be more open and let her guard down, but he was not letting that happen.

After everything that happened today he wanted Pansy far, far away from Eden.

He needed time to consider when she would be allowed to see her again. Until then Eden was stuck with him no matter what she said. He was not going anywhere.


	22. Chapter 22

One week passed before Malfoy allowed Eden to be alone in her room and another until she was allowed to leave or see Pansy, whom Eden thought had just left her there on her own with Draco.

The moment the words came out of his mouth she basically barged out of the room without a jacket and walked outside inhaling so sharply just to get in the fresh air.

The cold air.

It was so refreshing after spending two weeks cooped up in that torture chamber she called a room.

Eden rolled up her sleeves to let the wind hit her until Pansy basically engulfed her in a hug to which Eden almost fell over from the surprise.

"I'm so sorry Eden. I'm so sorry I didn't know. I didn't know and I'm so sorry!"

"Stop apologizing. She does not need a reminder of what you did." Draco stepped out and threw a jacket toward Pansy, who then wrapped it around Eden's shoulders, rubbing them right after to make sure she was really warm. Eden's eyes locked with the darkness from behind the stable.

The last time she was out here she had her brink of death experience with the vampire.

As Pansy looked toward Draco, Eden slid out from her arms and took off in the direction of the closed gates.

They were closed to prevent her from going back, obviously, but she wanted to see. She wanted to look at where it happened.

There was just this strong urge inside of her to do so.

When she got the bars she wrapped her hands around them and peered to where the path cut off.

You could see it from the house today since there was no fog hiding it from the view.

Her blood still stained the snow. All this time and it did not melt and no new snow fell to cover it.

It was dark red and old looked because... Well it was old.

Eden's hands went numb against the freezing cold bar and she pulled her hand away to prevent it from actually hurting her.

When she opened her palm she saw that it was bright red and it throbbed from the sudden release.

That was right about when a thought crossed her mind and she turned around to face the porch once again.

Draco and Pansy stood staring at her from all the way in the distance.

He had his usually serious face with his arms crossed over his chest and Pansy stood beside him with a small smile on her and her hands rocking back and forth on both sides.

"I want to see Eden!". Eden shouted so they could hear her. She pulled her hands into her sleeves shyly— doing it to keep her warm— and began to make her way back to the porch.

"She's inside. Come and see her. I'm sure she would love to see you after all this time. Besides it's been nearly three weeks since you saw her last."

Pansy lead Eden to the living room where her daughter was the first time Pansy let Eden meet her, but this time instead of Draco sitting there and playing with her, Tissy was sitting, dangling a toy above her as she laughed loudly trying to reach up and grab it.

Tissy's attention turned to the doorway seeing Eden walk in and her face immediately lit up.

"Tissy is so glad to see you again!"

"Thanks. I missed you too."

Pansy walked over and picked up her baby, bringing her over to Eden who she reached out and tried to grab.

"Do you want to hold her because if you don't then that is okay."

"No no. I want to hold her."

Eden wanted to hold the little bundle of joy. 

Poor thing didn't even realize how much negativity was in this house. 

At least it didn't effect her the way it effected adults and teenagers. 

It was the worst in teenagers. 

Since they were already hormonal, remaining dark magic made them feel that pain 10x more. 

They lashed out at everyone... She could remember.

"Be careful with your neck-"

Malfoy cut himself short as he watched Eden totally ignore him and grab the baby to recklessly for herself.

"Lord. I'm going for a walk."

"Bye." Eden mumbled, walking over and sitting on the couch with Pansy's daughter in her hands while Pansy smiled at him and followed the girl.

Before Draco left, he stayed for a moment. 

She was great with children, he always knew that. 

You could have just told by the way she acted. Eden was so motherly to everyone she knew despite them being older than her.

"Hi there!". Eden moved the baby to cradle her in her arms as Pansy chuckled lightly when the baby would screech of excitement from being around Eden.

Maybe this was a way for the girl to feel better about herself and her situation.

It was definitely working for her now because if someone were to walk into this room they would never guess she of all people would have tried to drown herself in a bathtub two weeks prior.

Draco walked up to his bedroom and shut the door, his hand slid into his pockets as they nervously shook.

Eventually this would pain her. 

Seeing a baby. 

It would pain her because she would think of her future... 

Her children. 

They would not be born out of love but rather because she would be forced and she would most likely not be able to stop until she was either infertile or produced at least three heirs, just in case one died in a battle or of disease.

Just the thought of that was disgusting.

Eden mothering Voldemort's children. Carrying them for nine months and giving her birth just to be miserable the rest of her life.

Draco was quite glad that he was the one thinking these things rather than her. 

Eden finally caught a break after her traumatic outburst and thoughts like this would have made her act out once again.

The energy she was giving off now was way better than before. It was the best he'd seen her in a while actually.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the night Eden spent with Pansy and her daughter. 

Draco kept popping in and leaving at random times to check in on the girls until he gave Eden no option but to go back to her room at 11pm.

When they got back Eden sat on her bed waiting for Draco to come and do the new nightly routine he insisted she do.

All he did was check on her wounds and eye. 

Her eye was the worst. 

The swelling had gone down thankfully, but the purple around her eye looked almost as if it was fake. Like it was painted on with makeup, but it was very much real.

He tried many potions which Tissy would make, but nothing ever worked. So he resorted to home remedies that he learned from his mother at a young age.

Warm compress for a few minutes, then gently massage it to release the tension. 

Eden would get better eventually if he did it consistently every night. 

It always worked for him. 

Especially that one time Hermione Granger punched him right in the face. Everyone thought she got his nose but she had gotten him in his left eye...

Every night he would sit in the chair that stood in the corner of Eden's room, waiting for her to sleep.

By that point she blocked him out completely. 

It became easier to have him in there after a while and if she was being completely honest it made her feel less lonely to have him there while she slept.

His presence was no longer as bad as she thought. It just felt awkward, but that was all.


	23. Chapter 23

As Eden held the baby in her arms, feeding her, Draco burst into the room. The door hit the wall so hard it would have left a mark had there not been a protection spell on the mansion walls.

Her head whipped to the side where Malfoy stormed in and child in Eden's arms began to cry, forcing her to take the bottle out of her mouth and try to calm the baby down. 

Eden sat her upright and began to shush her, bringing her closer to her chest.

Draco looked stressed and pale. 

The blue was gone from his eyes, they looked black and the look on his face told the girl that he was worried. 

About what? She had no clue, but she was sure she was going to find out soon...

Pansy suddenly apparated into the room. Probably because her baby was crying. 

The house echoed. 

She heard it from the kitchen.

"Shhh. It's okay precious. Come here." Pansy grabbed hold of her child taking it out of Eden's hands. "Why the hell would you do that Draco! You made her cry-"

"The Dark Lord requests to see Eden... Now."

All the colour drained from Eden's face and she swore the room turned black for a moment. She lost her balance although she was already sitting and put her hand down on the cushion of the seat to try and keep herself upright, but her arm was shaking, not only her arm, her whole body.

All that in a matter of seconds...

She wished she could have time to prepare; get herself in the right headspace.

Voldemort would hurt her when she went and she needed to brace herself for it.

Pansy's eyes darted toward Eden and she quickly placed the baby down in the crib she had set up in the living room. She did because that was where they spent the most time aside from her temporary bedroom. After she did so she rushed over to Eden and sat beside her taking her in her arms and allowing the girl to rest on her.

Pansy could feel how much the scared girl was shaking and all she could think of was how sorry she was for her.

"I said NOW! Let's go Abella!"

"Give her a fucking second!" Pansy shouted over him in Eden's defence, but all he did in response was become more violent, grabbing Eden's arm tightly and pulling her away from Pansy.

"Let go of her bloody hand or you're coming too."

Pansy leaned in closer and grabbed Eden's cold face, bringing it to where she could whisper into her ear.

"It's going to be okay. I'll be here when you get back."

Eden's teeth could faintly be heard chattering as she nodded her head, unable to even make eye contact with the woman that sat right in front of her.

Immediately when Pansy drew away from Eden both her and Draco were gone. 

In a new, yet very familiar place. They were back at Voldemort's living quarters this time right outside the door of the room she'd been tortured in the last time she came.

She stumbled when her feet met the ground once again, but Malfoy made sure to catch her already knowing she did not do well with apparation to begin with, at least now...

Draco suddenly gripped her arm tightly and turned her around so that her eyes were focused on his and nothing else. 

Their faces were only a few centimetres away from one another.

"You tell him what he wants to know you hear me. You do that and there will be no consequences."

Of course not!

Was this boy insane?

"Maybe in a million years." Eden gritted her teeth and began to grind them.

The doors to the room swung open and immediately a loud laughter of the maniac who owned this place sounded. "How delightful it is to see you Eden. Come in why don't you."

In the heat of the moment Eden yanked her arm out from Draco's grip and walked in the room, but as she went on she realized that his touch was the only thing keeping her from completely breaking down... 

Purposely she tripped over her feet.

Draco grabbed her again and the sinking feeling in her stomach became less then it was when she first entered.

"I've heard about your little accident and I know you've gotten some of you memory back... Hmmm how interesting is it not? I want you to tell me what you remember. Unless of course you would like me to do it myself which I have no problem doing."

Say something... Say something Eden!

Nothing was coming out of her mouth. 

She froze looking at him. The amount of dark magic in this room was too much. It felt like it was coming down on her, suffocating her.

"Hold her down-"

"No! No I'll tell you..."

A small smirk appeared on his thin lips as Draco sighed behind her. The sigh sounded like one of relief. As if he was actually grateful that she had chosen to tell him.

"Whenever you're ready."

"Hermione Granger... She uh- She was helping with my ballet..."

As Eden went on and on about the dream she dreamt of while she was asleep for those several days, several weeks ago Draco could only focus on one thing...

In the memory that came back she remembered him. Eden remembered he'd given her the necklace and if the Dark Lord had gotten hold of that information she would be ripped from his care, given to another Death Eater who would not care for her as much as he did. Probably stick her in a cell, deprive her of food and water and if Eden had died they would not care.

Draco hoped for her sake and his that she was smart with what she chose to withhold from him and what she chose to speak of.

Every time she mentioned Hermione's name Voldemort winced and whenever she mentioned Harry's he scoffed... 

Every single time. 

And every time he did she paused, waiting for him to stop acting like a complete arse.

When she finished the story Draco let out the breath he felt like he was holding that entire time.

No talk of what he gave to her that night... Not even a mention of her going to the house, getting ready with Narcissa and arriving to the ball with her. 

Eden came up with a story completely on the spot and thank god that she did because had she not she would have been in grave danger and there would've been nothing Draco could do about it... At least not now.

The lord had a smile on his face when she finished and sunk down.

Neither of them could tell, but Eden felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest. 

Her hands were still shaking, but she held them in front of her to try and make it less noticeable. The only thing that really did for her was make her seem more nervous. She kept running her fingers over her palms, pulling on her fingers and scratching around her nails.

"You dance... How fascinating... I would like you to dance for me the next time you come. What am I saying? You will dance for me the next time you come."

Fuck this guy is so weird...

With a blank face Eden stared, waiting for him to move on from what Voldemort just asked of her as if it was not already awkward as it was.

"Draco. I would like a moment alone with her."

The grip around her arm tightened and once again the room felt like it was spinning.

What could he have possibly wanted with her alone?

What did he want to do to her that Draco could not be present in the room with them.

Draco had no choice but to comply or else it would be him being sent home with the pain of being tortured. 

His hand slid off her arm and with a quick nod he exited the room slowly.

The world felt slow for Eden as she walked closer per Voldemort's request. 

Her hands shaking even more then they were before, he suddenly stood and walked over to her. The cloak he was wearing almost made it look like he were floating instead of walking.

"You may think I am a bad guy because that stupid Potter put it into your head... But I am none of what he says Eden..." He stepped behind her wrapping his arm around her and pulling her against him. When he spoke she could feel his lips graze the back of her ear.

The feeling of a cry was coming and there was a lump in her throat as she tried to hold it in.

Eden kept telling her self not to cry over and over again, but she couldn't help it. A tear fell down her cheek and a hesitated breath escaped her lips.

"The sooner you realize that the sooner you will come to the realization that you are mine and mine only. We will live a happy life together. We will have children."

Oh god... Not children. Anything but children.

"We will have as many as it takes until you produce an heir. They would be beautiful Eden. They would be ours... You'd be happy with me. Don't you want to be happy?"

His free hand was beginning to slide down her stomach slowly.

A shaky cry ripped out of her throat and she had finally taken enough.

Right when the scared girl went to push him off of her a bunch of guards came bursting through the door one after another. They all shouted over each other, but Voldemort still did not let go, instead his head backed away from the back of her's just enough to see what everyone was shouting about.

In the frame of the door Draco stood with a cold face, staring at Eden in the hold of the Dark Lord. His jaw was clenched and head tilted.

He was angry...


	24. Chapter 24

His hand is so low...

Why is his hand so low?

Why is he so close?

Why is he touching her like this?!

Her eyes... They looked like glass from this far. She is crying.

He has hurt her... If not physically then mentally.

What has he done to her!

Draco's mind was racing and all he could do was stare at them confused and in disbelief.

"My Lord... There had been an attack on the castle-"

"Then you know what to fucking do. Go defend the castle!" Voldemort shouted so loudly that it made Eden flinch in his arms.

"Sir, we think Hermione Granger is upon those who have attacked. We would not have bothered you if this were not important. This might be our only chance to capture her."

He finally let go of Eden stepping in front of her and rushing down the steps. "I THOUGHT WE HAD HER KILLED! I KILLED HER MYSELF! Draco! Bring the girl home NOW!"

"Yes my Lord..."

Eden was numb looking at the events unfolding in front of her... Hearing that there was a chance of Hermione being alive and not to mention in the same place as her.

This was her chance. 

She could get out of here. 

It did not matter if she left with her magic or not. 

Eden no longer cared if she had to live the rest of her life a muggle. 

She needed to get out. 

She needed to see if what the guards said was the truth and even if they were not the people attacking would take her.

They would protect her.

They were on her side.

Her body began to move on it's own down the steps of the throne she was just on. 

Eden's goal was simple, but she'd been so numb that she did not even think of Draco or anyone else like the guards for that matter. 

She was in her own head.

Everyone was leaving the room and she began to follow with tears streaming down her face until she bumped into the man coming to take her home and snapped back into reality.

"Where do you think you're going-"

"Please Draco if you let me leave I won't tell anyone! Voldemort will think it's an accident! He won't care! Please! Please just let me go! Let me see if it really is Hermione out there.. I need to see her! I need to see for myself-" Eden took a sharp inhale and cut herself off.

For a moment Draco's eyebrows furrowed in guilt and sympathy, but it changed as quickly as it came upon him and he grabbed her apparating out of the castle and back to his home, right to the foyer.

The boy let go of her letting her fall to the ground as she sobbed in anguish.

Pansy rushed in quickly and looked between Draco and Eden, who sat on the floor unable to get up. "It's fine. You're fine-"

"I'M NOT FINE! I'M NOT FUCKING FINE!"

"Yes you are... Shhhh. What did he do to you. Tell me..."

Eden sharply inhaled and put her hand on her chest to try and control her breathing.

"He's to have children with me... As many as it takes until I brith an heir. He touched me... He ran his hand down my stomach. He- He touched me."

Nails dug right into Draco's palms until he could feel the pain of it tearing his skin. 

The best thing to do right now was not ignore her, but comfort her.

If he did not do that who knew what she was going to do?

Draco too got on his knee's just as Pansy had.

"H-Hermione... What if they catch her! What if they catch h-her! They're going to kill her! They'll fucking kill her-"

At that point the poor girl could not even form correct sentences between all of her sobbing and heavy, shaky breathing.

After she said that the tiniest bit of Draco cracked under the pressure of knowing what this was doing to her. It was destroying her and he was no longer going to sit and watch. He couldn't because he knew something no one else did.

"Look at me..." He grabbed her face gently and wiped a tear with his thumb. "She's not at the castle. I made it up when I saw them running. I would not lie to you Eden she is not there fighting."

He locked eyes with Pansy and tilted his head in a way which silently asked her for some back up and even though she had no idea what they were talking about she went along with it, hugging Eden from behind her chiming in to add to what he just told her.

"Believe me Eden. If you won't believe him, believe me. Hermione is not there. She is not in any danger."

Eden shut her eyes and it appeared that she passed out. The girl had gotten so worked up that she just shut her eyes and fainted.

Draco let go of her and backed away still on the floor.

"You can't leave her alone after all of this Draco. She needs someone... She needs you. Even if she does not remember, she needs you to be there for her. What else happened to her there."

"The Dark Lord has asked her to dance for him. Ballet. Just like she used to. Her face went so pale Pansy. I wanted to pick her up and run."

"You need to give her more signs. She needs to remember more. Maybe then she will put some trust into you. Look at me for example. She has no memory of me and she has put so much trust in me. Be more gentle around her. If you were to put yourself in her shoe's how would you feel?" Pansy looked down at Eden and pushed some hair away from her eye. "She is being forced into a relationship with the one person she hates the most, she has just found out he plans to make her have kids against her will, plus it was just sprung upon her that the only person connecting her to her past was still alive, which ended up just being fake-"

"I did what I had to Pansy! If I had not done anything she would have been trapped inside that room with him and I would never forgive myself if that man had gone any further with his plan. We both know Eden would have been more traumatized after what he planned to do to her today rather than her finding out her friend is actually still dead."

Silence took over as Pansy examined Draco's face, then his body language.

"Hermione is still alive isn't she..."

"That girl is dead Pansy. Trust me, I tried to save her for Eden's sake... I gave a prisoner a polyjuice potion and they killed her instead. I could not have just let Eden live on while everyone close to her died... Don't look at me like that. I didn't do it because I wanted to save her. I did it to look out for Eden-"

"She knows you Draco! She knows you, you just need to remind her. Remind her and she will remember."

"I did this for a reason. I'm not going to ruin this now just because I'm selfish. She is to move on even if I regret what I did to her until the day I die. She's safer this way-"

Pansy kept cutting him off.

"Safer? Yeah she sure does seem safe right now Draco... Look at her! Look at what she has become. Eden is severely underweight, she has bite marks in her neck, a black eye and she has been wearing the same clothes every day for the past MONTHS! Not to mention she has attempted suicide not once but TWICE! If she was really safe then she would not look and act like this. If she was really safe-"

"I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN PANSY! I BROUGHT YOU HERE FOR HER! I PUT HER IN HER OLD ROOM FOR HER! I LET HER KEEP THE NECKLACE FOR HER! WHAT MORE CAN I DO?!"

"TO START, YOU CAN FIX WHAT YOU HAVE DONE BECAUSE THE WAY SHE IS NOW IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

All my fault.

Was it really all my fault?

"Wait. I didn't mean that."

No. 

Pansy did mean what she said. 

And she was right.

Draco could have prevented so much from happening to Eden had he just told her the real past she had. How half of the "memories" she had with Harry were actually with him. How although Harry was her soulmate she was not in love with him the way she currently thought.

If he told her everything she would have listened to him.

Almost being killed by the vampire would have been prevented and her outbursts would probably only consist of hyperventilation instead of suicide attempts.

Maybe Eden would have even been happier.

At least she would know that someone who truly did love her was here for her... Or rather with her to fight this battle.

Draco stood without a word and bent down to pick up the unconscious girl.

"I didn't mean it. I'm sorry-"

"You're right though." As he spoke he adjusted the girl, letting her rest her head on his chest. "I know this is my fault, but she will be in much more danger if the Dark Lord knows about what we are- Were... What we were... I'm bringing Eden to my room in case you go looking for her. She needs rest."


	25. Chapter 25

Thankfully, Eden was not asleep for long. She woke up only a few hours later.

When she woke, she found herself trying to catch her breath, like she was out of it though she could feel she had enough.

The feeling stopped as quickly as it came and her stomach sank slowly. Her eyes began to scan through where she was right now.

Comfortable bed...

Large room...

Huge windows which were covered by long drapes...

This was not her room.

This was not where she went to sleep every night nor woke up every morning. She had no clue where she was, but she knew she was still in the manor which helped calm her down a lot.

"T-Tissy?" Eden got out with a huge rasp taking over her voice.

The girls throat was dry, she hadn't had anything to eat or drink since before she went to see Voldemort.

It was hurting her, her throat.

Crack!

Instead of seeing the small house elf that she normally saw when her name was called, there was a full sized human boy standing there and his name was Draco Malfoy.

His hair looked messy, his eyes had dark circles. He was tired, stressed even.

"Here."

He walked to the side of the bed holding out a glass cup filled with cold water for her to grab. It was basically calling her name and the second she put it to her lips, Eden had chugged it all.

Immediately she felt refreshed and she felt like all the colour was coming back to her face and lips.

When he took the cup back his hand brushed hers for only a moment before his eyes darted up to her own and he pulled his hand away letting the cup drop onto the floor.

Eden watched before her eyes as the cup fell suddenly breaking into several tiny sharp pieces.

"For fucks sake!"

Malfoy shouted loudly and looked over the mess he had just made.

"Let me help you-"

"No!.. I mean, no. You could hurt yourself. I'll get Tissy in here later on..."

Eden stared at him for a second more until her eyes fell to her hands. "You don't trust me."

"No I actually do not. If I let you near a bunch of broken glass who knows what you would do to yourself... The Dark Lord would not be impressed if I let anything like that happen to you."

By that point it was evident in the way he spoke that this had nothing to do with the Dark Lord anymore.

This was for him and his liking.

Though Eden could not understand why Draco Malfoy of all people could have wanted to keep her safe, she knew he was doing it for her own good and not in the interest of anyone else.

So she went along with it allowing him to do whatever he deemed necessary to calm his nerves.

The nervous girl changed the subject, hoping then maybe he would stop staring at her as much as he did then.

"He wants me to dance for him... I have nothing to dance in. No shoes, no clothes-"

"I will get them for you, and anything else you require to please him."

"I need specific shoes... They're called pointe-"

"Pointe shoes."

They both spoke together in unison catching Eden off guard.

How did he know? That was odd.

"I have your old shoes. That is how I know. I think you have forgotten you lived in this house for a long while before the Dark Lord had it out for you. You left some of your stuff..."

Malfoy walked over to his dresser and when he opened up the bottom drawer he pulled light pink shoes out of the dresser and then a piece of old paper.

From so far away Eden could not make out what was on it properly, but she had gathered there was a picture of a ballerina on it and by the looks of it, that girl appeared to be her.

"I kept the shoes because they are expensive and I know how to fix them when they get worn out. If I had a daughter and she wanted to dance I would have given them to her. As for the photo, my father was a sponsor for the show you performed in. He has a copy of every flyer from that show. I thought that you might have wanted this."

Eden ripped the old paper out from his hands swiftly looking at it for herself...

Holy shit.

How had she gone from this perfect, beautiful, healthy ballerina to... To what she was now? Underweight, anxiety... She had lost the smile from her lips. The girl in the picture was not the same girl who was staring at it.

The girl in the picture was not the same girl who was staring at it  
Cape Caper Performances.

Eden Abella.

One night only.

This must have been what Pansy was going on about that day in her room.

Cape Caper.

"Do you remember this Abella? You were excited for it. I remember. You wouldn't shut up about it-"

He caught himself before he could slip up and reveal everything to her.

"I only know because Harry was annoyed with you for it. I watched you practice every day for two months straight until the night of the performance. You had danced with another person. A boy. I don't know his name-"

"Alec. His name was Alec."

"Well.. You and Alec were the stars of the show. You see down in the right hand corner. It says one night only, but after the standing ovation you and your partner got, you two got to perform the rest of the shows. Two more to be exact."

The shoes were placed down on the sheets beside her legs, but still her main focus was on the flyer. 

Her hair was down. 

How strange it was to see it so long. Almost down to her bottom.

Eden chopped it all off when she fought in the war. One reason was that the she needed change. Her hair is as growing extremely long and one night she just cut it all off... Plus it was proven that on the battlefield, longer hair was just a danger. It was easy to latch onto therefore resulting in the loss of much more fighters.

"How do you remember so much of that? Was it an important event?"

"No. I just remember your dancing. How hard you worked, how much you trained and lost because of it. I might not have known you, but that doesn't mean I did not observe. For a few long months you were the talk of the Wizarding World. In every newspaper, in every flyer, even the radio spoke of you. It was hard to escape and trust me. I really tried to."

How nice of him to say to her... Note the sarcasm.

Rolling her eyes, the next thing she picked up was the shoes. They looked brand new although she knew they were her's from long ago. The inside of the shoe had a small EA written in it with a permanent marker, the same went for the other shoe.

"Where will I dance? How will I get music."

"I'll be there to provide the music... And uh- You can dance in the ballroom. I think that's big enough for you."

Big enough? 

That was BIGGER than enough.

That ballroom was huge as it was, imagine with all the curtains pulled up. It would have been ginormous. This almost got her excited, but with all her excitement came the rushing reality of her situation.

She was not dancing for herself or her own enjoyment.

No, she was being forced to dance by the sick man who killed her soulmate, her friends, her bloody family! 

How was this going to be enjoyable in any way shape or fucking form?!

"I don't want to."

"That may be so, but you need to. Do you not miss the feeling you felt when you danced? The feelings and emotions you could portray through your piece? Does that not bring you any sort of light?" Draco asked and took a seat on the end of the bed.

"Not when I'm doing it for the devil him fucking self."

The room fell silent and the cold look was back on Draco's face. Eden always lashed out at him like it was his fault for what the Dark Lord asked of her... 

In a way, yes it was. 

He was the one keeping her here, therefore he was the one forcing her to meet with him, but at the same time he was not responsible for any of it.

To him, he felt that he was a victim to this vile plan of Voldemort's as well.

Draco stood, now leaning against the frame of his bed. "If that is how you would like to act, be my guest. I was only trying to keep you relaxed after everything that happened before you ended up in my bedroom to begin with, but since you obviously don't fucking need it you can leave, find your way back to your room."

"Wait.."

"What Abella?"

"Was Hermione really not there? You made it up?"

With pursed lips Draco nodded his head, then motioned his hand to the door.

"As I told you before, I would not lie about something like that. Now get out."

Eden made sure to carefully step over the broken glass as she found her way off of the bed and to the door. Before she left she grabbed the shoes and flyer and made her exit.

"Wrong way Abella." Draco smirked watching as she walked right instead of left down the hall. 

Ultimately she would have ended up in the same place, but going left was much faster and would save her a lot of time.

"I knew that..."


	26. Chapter 26

For the first couple of days Eden practiced alone in her room trying to remember pieces she had performed in ballets, but nothing could come to mind.

While she was at it she asked Tissy to bring her a book about ballet to which she did...

How odd was it that Malfoy had a book about ballet in his library to begin with.

At first she thought it was most likely his mothers, but reminded herself that his mother was no dancer.

After 4 days Pansy came and told her she needed to leave her room.

Eden spent so much time alone in there that Pansy was starting to worry, so the girl took her practice to the hallway outside of her room until that was also not enough for the residents of this bloody house.

Instead of Pansy or Draco coming to tell her they sent Tissy.

"Master says you need come down and practice your dancing in the ballroom."

Master huh...

"Master has given Tissy strict orders to walk you down to the ballroom and master does not like to wait. If you just take Tissy's hand, Tissy is glad to take you down."

She grabbed the house elves hand, walking along beside her acting like she did not know where the ballroom was, but she was actually very familiar with it from Christmas.

When she got to the doors Tissy vanished and let go of her hand leaving her outside.

From the day that she was told she needed to start dancing again, Tissy had only brought a pair of black sweatpants and a white tank top. It was something of an old teenagers which she knew because it hand the year 1996 on the tag where it said the size. 

It was better than dancing in a blue sweatshirt and jeans though. The girl was not complaining.

The doors opened suddenly catching Eden by surprise as she stood looking up at the man who just opened them, waiting for him to say something.

Anything.

But nothing came out.

With a quick little glance over her whole body, Draco walked back into the room and sat on a couch that would have normally been covered by the red velvet curtains, which were now pulled up to the sides and tied around the pillars that circled the room.

The roof looked even more beautiful when she was really in the room rather than hiding behind some curtain.

Paintings were scattered all over it.

One's of angels, demons, snakes, wands...

It was like all the beautiful parts of history were thrown up onto the roof into a gorgeous painting.

One thing she noticed was how cold it was when empty and with the only light coming from the skylight window that wrapped around the borders of the paintings just once.

"You can come in you know. I don't bite..."

Eden ignored his comment and stopped daydreaming on the spot about how amazingly enticing the ceiling of this room was.

"I need you to play me a song... I'd assume you know how to use that piano over there."

In the corner of the room sat a sleek, shiny black piano which looked like it had not been touched in years upon years. The condition was just too new to have been used recently.

Unless that was the point of it.

To be decoration and not really playable.

His brow rose challengingly and he swiftly rose from the cushion, walking his way over to the large piano. "What do you need?"

"Valse Sentimentale by Tchaikovsky."

In a matter of seconds the sheet music was pulled up in front of him and he smirked more to himself when he placed his hands down, fingers on the correct keys.

He knew he could do it, so he was acting cocky.

"Slow tempo. I haven't danced in a long time."

Although the boy never answered her when she spoke, she knew he was listening and she knew he would take in what she was saying, not ignore.

Draco was just a overly selfish little bitch who thought everything was a game after all.

God what would it take for someone around here to punch him in the face!

Stop.

Stop.

Stop it. Use all this rage and emotion for your dance.

Eden told herself in her mind.

Since she had no set idea of what on earth she was going to do, she was going to improvise, use what she knew already and put together a dance which would hopefully jog some of her memories.

One thing she did remember, she had danced all throughout the war, not once did she stop. She performed for someone...

Who did she perform for?

It appeared to have slipped her mind too.

Another thing added to the list of many things she needed to remember.

If she really started a list it would be as long as the path all the way to the stables behind the gates.

As Draco began playing slowly, looking up to watch her, Eden began.

The piece began slow...

In her mind she began to plan.

A build up.

A buildup of everything you felt or rather have been feeling for the several months you've been here.... Then, you would let it all go.

Building it up just to break it down.

Man was she glad Malfoy was in the room, giving her that cold hard stare he always did.

With his lips pressed into a line, his jaw clenched watching her be herself...

Gave her enough rage to actually dance brilliantly.

Her eyes locked with his and she began to spin, starting with slower pirouettes and ending up faster.

"Point your feet Eden!"

Hermione's voice kept sounding through her head as she spun and spun. All the times she went to her for help.

At that point it was almost like Hermione was her actual ballet teacher.

"You'll go nowhere if you continue like this! Do you think they give solo's to people who don't know how to dance? Come on Eden!"

"You did good that time! Now up. We'll start again."

Eden supposed it was her fault that Hermione was so harsh on her whenever they practiced together.

Eden asked it of her after all.

The way she saw it, being mean and told you sucked was a way to be humbled.

If you always had someone around, praising you for every little thing you did you would get cocky and start to think you were better than everyone else.

Eden was guilty of it at some times...

Everyone is.

She stopped spinning moving onto holding an Arabesque.

She felt as though she could faint not from dizziness, but from how out of shape she was. Being the size she was now compared to before, she couldn't handle what she was doing to herself.

Leaps across the floor, pointed feet, extended legs.

That was all she needed to do.

That was all she needed in order to look like she knew what she was doing, but at this point she felt she did know what she was doing. It felt as though her mind had taken over control of her body when she danced.

Suddenly it all stopped. 

She stopped.

Eden almost fell over but caught herself and instead of falling straight to the floor she put her hands on her knee's and hunched over, trying her hardest to catch her breath.

The music stopped and by the sounds of the footsteps coming closer to her she knew Draco was on his way to make sure she was alright.

"Go again." The tone of her voice told Malfoy that she was not just saying this, she was demanding it.

"Abella... You look like you're about to pass out. Don't work yourself too hard-"

"I said go. again. I can do it without you here if that is truly what you wish, but it would be a pain in my ass to mark in my head without music."

Draco suddenly drew his wand from his pocket and mumbled a few words toward the piano where it began to play right after, starting from the top of the piece once again just like she had requested.

"What are you waiting for. Go again."

Now?

With him right here?

Fine then. If that was what he absolutely wanted from her. Eden moved back to her first position backing away from him.

This was weird.

This was embarrassing.

But why did she feel so embarrassed to dance in front of him.

The way Eden stopped those thoughts was by thinking about who she was preparing this dance for and quickly, Malfoy did not seem so bad.

As she began to dance he kept his eyes on her the whole time, crossing his arms across his chest and pacing back and forth slowly, analyzing her.

"Your foot was sickled there. Stop trying so hard, let yourself take over."

Was he really tell her how to dance right now?

Nonetheless, his unsolicited advice was proving to help her.

Eden felt the tension inside of her loosen up again until she felt completely confident in what she was doing.

"Good job."

Two turned into three. Three turned into four and now she was practicing the same piece again.

It was starting to feel more fun now that she had the gist of what she was doing.


	27. Chapter 27

All of a sudden the music stopped as did her spins when she realized.

"That's enough for you today. You're overdoing it. Start again tomorrow."

"What do you mean tomorrow. I want to do it now." From all the adrenaline rushing through her, Eden almost forgot she was not a free woman doing this by her free will. 

She was a prisoner and the way she was speaking to the man keeping her here was extremely rude and disrespectful, but what she was about to do was a whole lot worse.

"Well I said tomorrow. You'll be thanking me later on-"

All of a sudden her fist swung at him heading straight for his face without a single reason why...

Well Eden could name a few, but in that moment, then and there, there was no reason for her to do this. 

It was so random and unexpected that she hoped she would get to him, just punch him and humble the boy.

But she was stupid for thinking someone could ever lay a finger on Draco without him noticing.

His hand wrapped around her tiny fist right as it was about to collide with his face and a small smirk formed on his lips. It was one of amusement, but it wiped away shortly after.

"I've trained with the most powerful death eaters in the world, I have a wand with me AND I work for Voldemort's army and you think you're going to swing that pathetically small fist of yours and punch me across the face. I'd give you props for trying, but I wouldn't want to egg on this bad behaviour of yours so I'll be as nice as possible." His grip tightened and he twisted her wrist causing her to let out a yelp of pain. "If you try something like that again, which I know you will since you obviously have some sort of deep hatred for me, I won't hesitate to beat you until you see stars."

Eden laughed calling his bluff. "You wouldn't lay a finger on me because I also know you obviously have some sort of deep care for me. Not sure why, but you make it too obvious Malfoy."

"If I had a fucking care in the world for you I would have set you free. You're confusing orders with reality. I don't care about you. No one does."

"If that were true you would not have helped me by distracting the death eaters with that Hermione bit. And a person who didn't care would have let me bleed out and DIE that night I got bitten, but you certainly didn't because look at me now."

The two of them stared challengingly at one another. Draco's face turned completely serious and Eden was now the one with the smirk on her lips.

"So should I have just let you die then?!"

"Yes! That was the whole point-"

"It was not!" He shouted loudly making her flinch the slightest bit. "You were screaming and crying. You called for me because you couldn't fend for yourself!"

"Well if I was free and had my magic I would have been able to fight him off!"

If he was going to raise his tone, Eden could do the same thing.

That was no problem for her. Being a bitch was in her blood anyway.

That she remembered.

"You want to leave?! Fine go! Find yourself out, but just to let you know the only way to leave is through that forest and unless you want to die you'll stay here with me whether you like it or not!"

"I'd rather die!"

"Be my fucking guest Abella!"

He let go of her harshly and stepped back waiting for her to walk out of the manor; but the thing was she really did mean it.

Eden stared at him and for a moment she took in the final person she was going to see, then made her way out of the room walking straight toward the foyer and out the door.

How could things have escalated so quickly?

Both Eden and Draco asked themselves that question as one stood shocked in the ballroom and the other was halfway out the door.

It was then that Draco was beginning to remember why it was better for her not to remember.

Things like this.

Fights over the stupidest shit.

It was easier for her this way. It would cause less stress on her.

All while Draco stood in the room Eden slid her pointe shoes off and kicked them to the side leaving them in the house. If the boy wanted them before he would have wanted them now.

Next she opened the door and walked out onto the cold porch barefooted and jacketless, though it was indeed better than before since she now had sweatpants on instead of an airy white dress.

Hair in braids, Eden took it down letting it loose so that it could at least cover her shoulders.

Draco couldn't let her go.

He couldn't let her die.

But then he would be proving her point.

Did that really matter though?

Of course it didn't!

Draco took off, following in her footsteps hoping she had not run off too far just yet.

Wind was beginning to blow her hair behind her shoulders which defeated the whole purpose of putting it down, but she continued on, reaching the gate and pushing it open.

It appeared the lock was undone, but she didn't think it was done for her to leave, maybe to let someone in, but if that happened she must have been asleep because she knew nothing of that interaction.

Draco walked out and his eyes scanned for her, finding her just about to step out from the gate. "Stop it Abella!"

Knew it.

She thought while she halted and turned around.

Malfoy was closer than she expected and as he walked closer it didn't seem like he was going to stop.

"Don't ever fucking leave." He wrapped the sweater he had on around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "No matter what I tell you. You got it?"

"Yes..." Eden nodded her head.

"Get back inside and go to your room."

Without a word Eden began walking back to the door pulling the sweater closed to keep herself warmer.

For being outside for only around 5 minutes, she was freezing.

Back at the gate, Draco had his hand wrapped around the lock, examining it carefully.

The lock had been tampered with...

Draco was not the one to do that.

Neither was Pansy...

And Tissy never came outside unless it was the stay with Eden as she walked.

Someone was here to take Eden.

No.

Now he was overreacting, but it was especially odd that the lock had been opened. The only one who held the key was him and an alohomora spell was not able to break through the enchantments he put on it prior to bringing it out there.

Only a great wizard could do such a thing... Bypass enchantments, but there were no more great wizards alive to do something like this...

"Eden has come in freezing Draco! You must be more careful with her!" Pansy stormed over to him beginning to scold him for letting her be outside without any jacket or shoes on.

Had she known Draco basically told her to kill herself he would be in a lot more trouble than he was at that moment.

When Eden reached her room the door was wide open and when she peered in through the frame, it was too late.

A hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her into the room shutting the door quietly behind her in order to not cause a scene. "Well, look at how nicely you've done yourself up..." Lucius leaned against the door.

How in the world did he get in here?

Who let this psychotic man near her!

It was his fault she was here in this house; In this room even!

"I just need one thing from you dear. If you give me that I'll put in a good word with the Dark Lord, tell him you need more time since you've made it very clear you don't plan on cooperating with the man at all."

Looking everywhere but him, Eden sat down on the edge of her bed. The most he could do to her was crucio her because just like his son... He was a pussy.

"...What is it you need of me."

"I need to know where you were the night Narcissa died and I know you're memory has gone to complete shit, but if I could just get into that pretty little head of yours. I think I might just find the answers I am looking for."

What kind of person would she be if she did this for him.

The man who hated her guts.

The man who basically captured her and watched as she suffered in the hands of Voldemort.

But what kind of person would she be if she declined the offer for more time?

It would help her greatly, maybe give her enough time to get her story straight and get it together.

It was very much a possibility that Voldemort was her new soulmate, in fact she was almost certain of it, but that didn't mean she had to like him.

Many soulmates disliked each other and that was a known fact.

Lucius tapped his foot on the ground awaiting her response impatiently...

Did any of this family know what manners were? This just proved her point. All Malfoy's were complete and utter assholes.

Say no.

Say yes.

Say NO!

Say YES EDEN!

The battle inside her brain was like a devil and angel on each shoulder until she overpowered her thoughts and began to speak on her own.

"I'm not doing this for your sake..." Lying back, Lucius smirked and walked over to her bed. "I'm doing this for mine. I need the time."

"Well time is what you're going to get. Now bite down on this. You tend to be a bit dramatic when people enter your mind."

Of course he would say that.

Lucius rose the bed sheet with his hand and placed a section of it in Eden's hands so she could position it in her mouth, in a way that would keep her quiet and not fall out.

Right after she placed it in her mouth, the man dove in not wanting to waste any time.

He began to poke and prod at different memories, going over them for a second until he found what he was looking for, though it seemed like there was a wall up, hiding the memory he wanted.

Every time he hit and fought to break in it sent an aching feeling all over Eden's already weak body, starting from her head and ending at her toes.

It felt like a giant bruise being punched and pulled over and over again until the wall broke, allowing Lucius to dive deeper into her thoughts and memories.

A rush came to her... One that felt like a brain freeze while you eat ice cream or a popsicle. One you felt went you chewed on ice for too long, but instead of feeling it normally, it felt enhanced. 10x the way it was supposed to feel.

Eden screamed so loudly that she was sure someone heard her, but Lucius didn't stop meaning he personally didn't see a problem with what she was doing on the outside of her mind, but it also could have been because he was too distracted by all the hidden memories that just flooded her brain...


	28. Memory 2

October, 1997

Hermione sat on the field outside the burrow, her hands placed by her sides even though the prickly feeling of the grass pained her the slightest bit. She took in the fresh air and let her head fall back when suddenly the hot sun shining down on her was covered and all the warmth she once felt was gone. 

Her eyes opened and she frowned seeing who it was that had blocked her view.

"Wow... Thanks Hermione." Eden plopped down beside her and looped her arm around her best friend's.

Hermione knew this act all too well. "What is it you want Eden. You always do this when you want something... Is it ballet related because if so I'm not helping. I'm tired right now this is my day off-"

"You know that lovely potion you made for Ginny and Dean... Well I need one now. It doesn't have to be today unless you have one on you, but yes, I will be needing one."

Hermione's eyes widened and her frown turned into an amused smile.

"A pregnancy prevention potion! Oh my god Eden! You bad, bad girl!"

Oh lord... How embarrassing.

If she spoke any louder all the Weasley's would hear and she knew she would NOT hear the end of it from Fred and George. Those two were always up her ass about stupid things like sex and her problems with Harry.

In a way, they felt like the brothers she never had, though 3;4! was much closer to Fred than she was George.

Her face began to heat up until her cheeks were notably red from how nervous she got now. "Just give me the bloody potion when you get it. And don't mention anything to anyone ESPECIALLY Fred! It's his day off and who knows how much he'd make fun of me if he heard."

"When have I ever told anyone your secrets?! I would never. I might have one in my bag, but if not I'll have it done by tonight."

The two girls sat in silence until Hermione rested her head on Eden's shoulder and looked at the tall weeds blowing back and forth in the cool October wind.

They had been out of school for only 2 months, but it was still so crazy. 

School had been cancelled...

When did Hogwarts ever cancel their classes. This was definitely going to be going down in some history textbooks...

"Do you think you know who is really going to try and take power again Eden? If he does we'll need to get ready to fight. He'll be after Harry... Me, you... I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I'm only 18-"

"Stop Hermione. He's not coming back... We won't need to do anything. We'll be safe."

"I think we should start enjoying our last bits of freedom Eden. I can feel it inside of me... Call it a precognition. Everything seems off. The days are losing their spark and feel so long compared to before and not to mention living with Ron. The Weasley's are amazing, they truly are; but I just cannot stand to see Ron all day everyday. It just reminds me of a married couple. It's too much. Sometimes I just need alone time, away from him. Or something like this!" Her cool hands grabbed onto Eden's. "With you alone, just talking."

Oh, did Eden know the feeling. 

When she did not spend her days here at the burrow, her days were spent walking around Muggle streets or staying locked up in that room of her's at the Malfoy's mansion. It was a lovely room, but it got boring. The only person who came was Tissy, their house elf and that was only if she was lucky enough to catch her in the morning time when she came to do laundry.

"It's okay to feel that way. How about we do something fun tonight. I have tickets to a show. A muggle show, but it's still something to do right? It will be fun."

"Let me guess... Ballet?" Hermione mocked her friend's voice and chuckled to herself.

Eden rose her hand and swung it playfully at Hermione's shoulder but still hitting it harder than she anticipated.

"I know you enjoy it too. You just don't want to tell me because you're trying to prove a point."

Both the girls smiled, for once actually feeling like teenagers in this messed up world. With everyone in fear almost all the time, it was hard to actually enjoy being a teenager.

"I'd be happy to go with you Eden. This is actually the first time anyone has ever invited me to go to a ballet performance. I've never been before. Say how did you even get the tickets?"

Alec Dolivo.

One of the most talented performers she knew.

He was too a wizard, but that did not limit him to just the wizarding world. He was 2 years older, 18 going on 19 in December to be exact, but they had met through a show years ago when they were still kids.

Thankfully, he didn't forget her when he took off. Not only did he perform in London, but he travelled all over Europe. He's been to France, Italy, Greece...

To say Eden was jealous of him was an understatement. The girl absolutely adored him. She wanted to BE him.

"A friend. He got them because he's performing and since his family is... Well, they don't speak... He gave the two of them to me. I was going to go alone because I thought you and Ron would have had plans, but I'm glad you can come."

"What about Harry? Why wouldn't you go with him?" Hermione asked and took her head off of her friends shoulder. It was beginning to cause a pain in her neck which she could not put up with.

"You know how he is. He doesn't like it. I'm sure he tells you the better version of what he tells me... "

Now looking up at clouds moving slowly in the sky, Eden laid back on the grass to be more comfortable to which Hermione did the same.

"Ignore him. You'll do great things one day. I know you will. You have the passion, the drive, the motivation and if Harry can't see that yet then it is his fault, but do not worry. Soon enough he'll come around realizing how much you actually care about what you do."

"I'll be waiting 1000 years for that day then..."

After a long day spent half outside with Hermione and half inside helping George and Ginny cook dinner for the family while Molly was away, she had finally apparated back home.

Harry was nowhere to be seen that day, but this had become a daily occurrence. 

After the party a death eater was found standing atop a muggle-born witch right outside the gates of the Greengrass estate which caused a huge freak out everywhere. 

The Daily Prophet was going crazy about it.

Their main headline was quite literally:

'YOU KNOW WHO IS BACK AND IS NOT MESSING AROUND!'

How pathetic.

Causing such an uproar about something so little. For all they knew it could have been murder by the man's own account, not by Voldemort's.

The mansion was dead silent when Eden arrived as always, but she made sure to apparate straight to the door of her room to avoid any contact with anyone and since she was not able to apparate into the room because of enchantments put on it, she resulted to appearing right outside her door instead.

Her outfit for the night was a tight black dress that fit right to her body and a jean jacket to hide any revealing skin like shoulders and cleavage.

The next thing she did was a simple small and subtle smoky eye and her hair was in a braided crown around her head in a half up half down condition with few pieces that fell down messily across her face.

When she stepped out into the hallway a few minutes later, she got herself prepared to apparate to the theatre where she agreed to meet Hermione, but as she took her few deep breaths in and out, someone unexpected came around the corner catching her off guard.

Never in her whole time of staying here had she seen him in this hallway because he made it his duty to stay away from her constantly.

"Where are you going dressed like that?"

His eyes scanned up and down at her body, stopping at her eyes with furrowed brows.

The funny thing was, he was also dressed fancy. There was no party tonight, there was no event period. Where was he going in that black suit of his?

"I could ask you the same question Malfoy."

"I asked you first... Tell me."

"To my friends ballet performance. Now you tell me."

His eyes dropped slightly as did the smirk he had on his lips.

"A ballet performance... Who is your friend Abella?"

"Alec Doli-"

"Dolivo?"

Oh no...

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Well Abella, where the hell do you think I'm going?" Draco walked closer, leaning against the cold wall of the hallway. Above him hung pictures of old family members or paintings from famous painters. "I suppose you're going with Potter then."

"Uh... Hermione, actually."

The rolling of his eyes told Eden that he did not want to hear Hermione's name roll off of Eden's tongue.

"What about you. Who are you going with?"

Draco chuckled and pushed his hair back, stepping closer and closer without even realizing it. "Unlike you, my girlfriend and I are on good terms, so I'm taking Astoria... Not that it's any of my business what you and Potter do in bed though. I'll see you there."

"No you will not be seeing me there-"

The bastard had already apparated away totally ignoring her and leaving her standing flustered in the hallway.

What did he know about her and Harry anyway... He was just trying to stir the pot. 

But why did it feel personal that time?

Maybe it was because her and Harry were actually having relationship problems... But the context of it... What they did in bed?

Little did he know that was Eden's only way of feeling anything toward Harry these days.

By the time she got to the theatre it was dark and Hermione was waiting outside in a beautiful red dress. Basically the same fit and cut as Eden's, but slightly different at the neckline. Hermione's went higher while Eden's went lower.

The theatre was packed full of people who all looked as though they were worth one pretty penny. Their hair was done nicely, clothes were dressy and serious. These people were definitely important.

As the two girls took their seats, Eden began to peer around the room trying to find the blonde haired boy who had to be in here somewhere amongst the crowd.

It was usually easy to find him in a crowded room. His hair was brighter than the sun, but from where she was sitting it didn't seem like he was there at all.

Perhaps he had lied to scare her.

That could have been it...

She told herself that until Hermione tapped her arm and leaned over whispering softly into her friends ear, "Look who's here. Oh my gosh look at her dress. We're not at a ball. Oh my-"

"She's trying to steal the show. Like she ALWAYS does. I'm getting secondhand embarrassment, Hermione please. Talk about something else."

Astoria was wearing a flashy green dress.

Sure the girls were overreacting, but the dress really was something; a bit too dressy for a ballet, though everyone around her adored her.

It was annoying really.

Astoria walks in, steals the show, gets the boys, sleeps with them and then acts so innocent...

"Look... Look Eden! She's just winked at that man. He's like how old 60?"

Instead of her gaze locking onto the man that Astoria was clearly throwing hints to, something else caught her eye or someone more specifically.

His face was pale, eyes cold and black looking, but he stood strong holding onto Astoria with his hand resting on the small of her back.

Draco and Eden stared intently at one another and for some reason neither one looked away.

Even as they sat down his eyes were still on hers, staring her down like she was the prey for his meal.

The first one out was Eden.

The tension was building up and although they were so far from each other with a whole audience separating them she began to feel intimidated by him. She just couldn't handle the feeling of a knot quickly growing in her stomach and rising to her throat.

It was awkward after that. She did not dare look back in that direction for the remainder of the night, but at moment she could feel the sense if someone looking her way and who else could it have been.

Eden did not even have the faintest idea of why he was being so hostile toward her all of a sudden, but she did not like it one bit. All this attention from Malfoy when he was here with his girlfriend.

It was unbearable.

When the lights went out and the show began it made her feel better knowing that the lurking eyes would stop now that the entertainment had begun... 

But they didn't.

It could have ruined her whole night had she not excused herself at the intermission telling Hermione she needed some air.

Now that was not a lie... But it was not the full truth.

Taking a step outside she was hit with the coolness of the fall night, rain falling like a mist from the clouds above as she circled around the building going into the alleyway between the theatre and the little bakery right beside it.

Eden brought a cigarette between her lips, cupping it and lighting it with her wand seeing as she did not have a lighter on hand and it was much easier to do with her wand.

As she blew out puff after puff the rain was lightening up until there was no more falling down on her, just the sound of distance thunder from the storm that had already passed.

It was so cool that night, she could tell fall was coming to an end.

Winter would hit soon.

She loved and hated winter...

It was a beautiful time, but it was also so lonely and sad. There was nothing to do.

She froze as she saw a man peer down to alley until she realized it was just Draco. She brought the cigarette back to her lips and ignored him.

Her view was of the brick wall in front of her and her back was against the wall of the theatre. From the corner of her eye she could see the white haired boy coming toward her until he was standing right in front of her.

"Hello Malfoy. Is there something I could aid you with?"

She blew the remaining smoke out of her mouth and looked him directly in his eyes. So much confidence for someone who was so intimidated by him.

Draco's hand shot for her's, grabbing the cigarette from her fingers and throwing it to the ground, under his shoe where he then put it out by stepping on it.

"Why do that Abella? You're killing yourself you know?"

"That's the point. Why is it you came out here? You've been acting weird all night." Eden placed her hands in her jacket pockets to keep them warm.

"You're off. You don't seem alright."

"Everyone has untold stories."

"I don't."

Eden chuckled and looked up at the sky.

He didn't?

She could tell him the multiple she knew of right this second.

"Astoria is not in love with you. She uses you for your money and sleeps with older guys. You know but you don't care. Do you want another because I know more than you think Malfoy-"

Draco cut off the girl with anger in his eyes. He stepped closer watching as she stepped back putting herself straight against the wall.

"You and Harry are having problems. You think you can fix it with sex. That's not the truth though and you know it. Do you want another because I know more than you think Abella."

Speechless.

How did he know?

Was it obvious?

Was she giving off signs?

"You know nothing. You- You-"

"You what? Spit it out? What foul name are you going to call me?"

Pig.

Dick.

Asshole.

Prick.

Bastard.

The list went on and on.

"I'd prefer if you called me a prick. Would have made me feel special."

Eden's eyes widened slightly and she moved her hands from her pockets down to her sides. Did he hear her? Was that what just happened?

"You're a mind reader?"

"Surprise."

She stared at him in shock.

He'd heard everything.

All she could think about was Harry during that performance.

The boy probably even heard her thoughts about Astoria. His own girlfriend!

This was so embarrassing.

Instead of saying anything to him, Eden decided now was a good time to end their conversation. As she passed, she hit his shoulder lightly and continued down the alley.

The whole way back she could feel his eyes lurking, following her right up until she turned the corner and made her way back inside.

When the show ended Eden went to say a quick congratulations to her friend Alex, but one thing led to another and both Hermione and Eden were basically hanging off of each other as a support when they walked.

At least they weren't as drunk as Astoria over there. Almost standing up on a damn table taking her dress off. Had it not been for Draco she would have done it and embarrassed herself in front of everyone.

That would have been amazing to watch.

Too bad...

The next time Eden looked at a clock it was 2 am. Hermione left without her, but after the night she had, she just planned to wing it and hope she survived until the morning.

Apparating while drunk could not have been healthy and knowing herself, she knew she would probably hurl when she arrived back at the manor.

Lucius would not like that in the slightest.

Would have despised her for it. Probably not even let it go for a few long months after.

Right when Alec was about to head out she felt someone grip onto her upper arm lightly and before she knew it she was back in her room, without anyone in sight when she turned her back to check.

There was only one person it could have been, but her brain was too tired to even think right then and there. Her body was responding to the alcohol in a horrible way, not allowing her to do anything other than fall onto her bed and shut her eyes.

That was exactly what she did.

Eden's legs were the first to go numb, then her arms, torso, and eventually her eyes shut and she was fast asleep.


	29. Memory 3

November, 1997

VOLDEMORT IS BACK AND HE IS BUILDING UP HIS ARMY!

In a recent attack at a quidditch match between Ireland and Russia, the Dark Lord's infamous "Dark Mark" symbol could be seen glowing green in the sky right after the games had finished. Witnesses say that there was no sign of you-know-who at the scene, but officials at the Ministry of Magic are saying we as a community should heed this warning. As a precaution to all wizards and witches, all sporting activities are to be banned starting November 24th. Stay safe.

The whole day had gone by, yet Eden kept reading the paper over and over hoping it was some kind of joke  
The whole day had gone by, yet Eden kept reading the paper over and over hoping it was some kind of joke. 

Her head was spinning out of control just reading his name. 

Voldemort. 

They said it like it didn't even matter anymore. As if he already ruled over them.

Her fingers ran along the edge of the paper over and over again without even realizing until she looked over and felt a burning sensation on the tip of her index finger.

A paper cut.

It began to bleed out dripping down onto the paper eventually soaking through and landing on the white sheets of her bed.

That was when she picked herself up and brought herself into the washroom allowing the cut to be rinsed off and soaked in hot water before grabbing a towel and applying pressure to her new, tiny wound.

She wondered what Hermione was doing after hearing this news... Fred, George... Harry? The Weasleys... Everyone.

The worst part about this was that she was staying in a house with a confirmed Death Eater and his name was Lucius Malfoy.

There was no one she could talk to about this. Not even Narcissa. That woman's loyalty laid wherever her husbands did and his loyalty indeed laid with the Dark Lord.

Now was the perfect time for her to get information for Harry, though Eden and Harry had not seen each other in weeks. 

He was always on her ass about that. Getting information of the Dark Lord and his plans. The man acted like she talked to the Malfoy's on a daily basis just to know these things.

There was a sudden screech from down the hall. Piercing to the ear. It was the scream of a woman. One that was hurt, maybe even dying.

The only other woman in this house was Narcissa...

Eden stood up right away, grabbing hold of her wand and ran out the door. The moment she turned the corner, she was faced with the only mother figure she's ever known lying on the floor.

The colour was already draining from her face and she was not moving at all, not even her chest. She was not breathing.

"Oh my-"

She as at a loss for words. 

How did this happen? 

Who did this to her?

Tears welled up in her eyes threatening to run down her cheeks.

Draco came running into the foyer a few seconds after Eden got down the stairs. He looked at her, his eyes trailing from her's to her hand where he saw her wand.

"What have you DONE!" He shouted coming at her and drawing his wand from his pocket.

Eden could tell he was holding back tears, but he didn't dare let them spill. He would never let his guard down even in front of Eden whom he knew did not care.

"I have not done anything!" She shouted back and held her wand back in defence.

"CRUCIO!"

The girl ducked quickly just missing the spell by a few centimetres and quickly shouted a spell back at him.

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

Draco'a wand went flying out of his hand and to the ground below their feet. 

In any ordinary fight he would be better than to let a stupid spell like that be used on him, but with all the emotion running through his body he was distracted.

His mood quickly changed though as Eden watched him make his way over to his mother.

The mask was slipping.

He began to breathe louder than usual.

Him being with his mother allowed her to step closer once again now that he was not trying to harm her anymore. 

She didn't blame him for it. He was upset after all.

The feeling of dark magic was growing stronger the closer she got to the body until she finally realized what it was that was giving her this awful feeling.

Draco reached his hand out to grab Narcissa's but Eden rushed over and grabbed his wrist pulling it back.

"There's a curse. If you touch her you'll die-"

"I would rather die than live with out her."

"Draco stop! Stop please... Please just- I'll take the curse off of her you just need to move."

"You're telling me to move from my mothers dead body?! You don't know how it feels-"

He stopped. 

Now the words were just leaving his mouth without any meaning. 

The thing was, she did know how it felt. Not only did she lose her mom, she lost her father too and her whole family had no means of contacting her.

Eden was completely alone.

With that realization, he was able to back away from the body, watching a distraught Eden mumble a few words between a few silent cries here and there.

All of a sudden from in front the front door came Lucius. The smile on his face dropped so quickly when he saw his wife on the floor, unconscious and not breathing...

Dead.

Just like his son he looked at what was in front of him and jumped to conclusions. 

Eden was the closest and she was holding a wand. 

In his eyes it looked like she was the one who did this to the love of his life. The only person he truly loved. His very own soulmate.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Lucius boomed with so much force that the ground shook. He pointed his wand toward the girl so suddenly she had no time to react. Moving would not do her any good, it would still hit her no matter what direction she went, plus she was on her knee's limiting her mobility and the spell was coming toward her quite fast.

If this was how she died... This was going to be a really shitty death.

Still she moved to the right, away from Narcissa's body in hopes that by some crazy chance the spell could have been dodged in the end.

The loud crack of the green spark hitting the floor right beside her could be heard echoing through the high ceilinged room, but only for a second.

It took her a minute to realize where she was. The Weasley's very own home, outside on the grass.

With a hard thud, Eden's chin hit the ground.

That was definitely going to bruise.

With the remaining energy in her body, she pushed herself to get up and really understand what just happened. 

She was not the one who apparated herself there. 

It would have taken a lot more of her energy right after reversing the curse that was put on Narcissa.

The confusion she was currently feeling was replaced with pain just a moment later.

With a quick pull of her long hair and the hitch of her breath, she was forced to look up at the man who had brought her here to begin with.

"You listen to me Abella. You're not to come back to the house. I don't care if you want to see her, I don't care if you need something, you do NOT come back there understood? He'll do worse next time he see's you and unless you have a death wish it would be in your best interest to head this warning for if you don't I won't do anything to stop him next time... Did the reverse work?"

Draco harshly let go of her and backed away straightening himself up, fixing any wrinkle in his sweater or pants. His hair was a bit messy from the sudden travel, but he tried his best to fix it by running a hand through it's softness.

"Yes. I- It worked."

"I'll bring you your things."

"How will you be able to find me? I won't be allowed to stay here for more than a night or two?"

"I'll find you. Now get yourself cleaned up and stop crying. Like a child. She meant nothing to you."

How hilarious. 

He said all these things as if he was not going to start crying the second he was alone when he was finally allowed to let all of his emotions flow out of him.

When Draco apparated away Eden was finally free to let the sob she was holding back rip out of her.

Her hands shook uncontrollably, but she found the strength to make her way to the door at a very slow pace.

Eden's hand shot to her chest, holding it in pain almost as if she felt like she was not breathing at all when suddenly the door to the burrow swung open and Fred came running out.

He must have seen her walking up from the window of his bedroom or the window in the staircase.

"Hey hey! What's happening? What's wrong?"

"S-She's dead Fred! Narcissa is dead! T-They killed her!"

She gripped onto his arms for support looking down at the grass being crushed below her feet as a way to keep herself from getting too dizzy.

Harry came running out of the door right after Ron did, then Hermione until eventually everyone was outside surrounding the crying girl.

"Lucius killed her?-"

"No! No! The death eaters! It all happened so suddenly. I didn't have enough time to d-do anything. I- I could have helped! I could have saved her-"

Harry took it from there.

He wrapped his arms around her torso and allowed his girlfriend to latch onto him for support while he looked around at everyone else.

"I could have helped her..." She mumbled just soft enough for only Harry and Fred to hear, being so close to her. "This is all my fault."

"There's nothing you could have done Eden. Just let it go."

"You're being horrible!". She pushed his chest and backed away from him catching the attention of everyone once again.

"The only mother figure I've ever known has just died and you're telling me to let it go?! I cant deal with this right now."

She was going to regret breaking down in front of all these people when she calmed down, but she couldn't control the way she was feeling anymore. Her emotions were just too much for her to keep inside for any longer.

Hermione rushed over and wrapped her arm around Eden's shoulders walking with her back inside the house.

It took a few people and hours until she was fully calmed, ready to actually speak and tell them what happened, how Draco tried to Crucio her and how Lucius could have killed her had his son not stepped in and got her out of that situation.

Harry did not take lightly to the news of what they tried to do to her, Ron felt the same, but Arthur Weasley helped calm them down and told them the consequences of their thoughts if they did decide to act on them.

Eventually everyone was off to bed once again, Eden went with Harry to his temporary room after apologizing for her behaviour in the front field and of course he forgave her. Why would he not?

When the clock hit 3 am and she was still not even remotely tired, she turned over looking at Harry. Eden expected him to be fast asleep by now, but her eye met his and she knew that he decided to stay up until she went to sleep herself.

Those were the types of things she loved about him.

The things she could look at over the bad.

These types of things were keeping her from straying away. Harry truly did care for her no matter how mean he got about what she wanted to do or the way she acted.

"Can't sleep?"

"No."

Eden looked down at his lips which she could barely see. If it were not for the light of the moon it would have been pitch black.

Harry abruptly caught her lips in his. Her hands shot to his biceps and he was quickly on top of her and between her legs.

Out of breath he suddenly pulled away and looked her directly in her eyes. His thumb ran over her swollen bottom lip sending chills down her spine and his expression was serious when he began to speak.

Their faces were only a few inches away from one another.

"Is this what you want Eden? After everything that happened tonight-"

"I want this Harry. Especially tonight."

A small smile formed on her lips only for Harry's to connect with her's once again.

Things developed quickly.

His hands.

Oh his hands felt so nice running up and down her small body.

His lips connecting with her jaw, her neck, her chest.

It only took him a few seconds to get them both completely naked and once he knew she was ready he thrusted into her slowly and gently. They hadn't done this in a few long months. It would take some getting used to again.

At least he knew this; Didn't go in all a once. Harry was a gentleman, Eden gave him credit for that.

"Oh fuck..."

The longer they went on the more Eden just wanted to let out a loud moan, but she couldn't.

Someone would hear and if someone heard they would be in deep shit.

If she got too loud for Harry's liking his hand would shoot to her mouth and silence her right away followed by a "Shhh... Don't be too loud. You're doing so good."

Her legs were shaking slightly and as her back arched, her stomach pressed against Harry's.

His strong arms wrapped around her torso when he came, hugging her closer and against his sweaty body.

When he pulled out he toppled over to the side and brought Eden with him when he did so, still hugging her closer to him as a way to keep her close and in his grasp.

He wanted to feel her, he wanted to touch her... He wanted to let her know he was there for her even if the things that came out of his mouth when speaking to her were not the right ones.

"You tired now?" Harry chuckled and looked down at the girl wrapped in his arms.

"Yes... I am." She laughed with him.

The feeling of his warmth was better then the blanket overtop of them so as one does, she nuzzled her head into his chest and got comfortable by pulling her knee's to her chest.


	30. Chapter 30

"GET THE HELL OFF OF HER!"

Draco shouted so loudly the whole room shook.

The sudden feeling of Lucius being pulled off her small body was a relief because when he was pulled off of her, the connection was lost and she finally felt like she could breath again.

The remaining pain in her head came in waves.

Every 1-2 seconds an ache felt like it was crushing her brain, but it was not as bad as when Lucius was fully invading her.

Immediately, Draco ran up to her making sure to hold her face and check for any kind of bruising from his father. "Are you alright? Eden?"

That slip up...

He always let her name roll off his tongue when she was in pain, or crying, or even trying to hurt herself.

To him, it was a way to get her attention. A way of leading it away from anything bad she was feeling in that moment because when he did say her name, she would look over and the shock weighed out her emotion.

"You're alright. Just shut your eyes..."

He reached down and pet her hair ever so gently before turning and looking down at his father whom he'd just thrown to the floor.

"It seems as through I've brought back memories of her's that you wanted to stay a secret. It's too bad isn't it. Maybe if you kept a better eye on the girl this could have all been prevented."

"How did you even get in father!? TELL ME!"

Draco pointed his wand down to his father and watched hims scramble and become less confident.

If there was one thing Lucius knew about his son, it was that he was not one to bluff. If he has his mind set on doing something he would do it no matter if it involved killing or destruction.

"It appears you were distracted with her little dance. Allowed me to get in through apparation undetected, this is my house after all... It gave me enough time to set up a distraction at the gate. I thought you were better than this. You're a bloody Malfoy-"

"And I'll loathe it for the rest of my fucking days on this earth. Now if you know what's best for you, you'll get up, leave and never step near her ever again."

Lucius looked toward the bed at Eden who was groaning in excruciating pain; Her shaky hands on her head rubbing it weakly.

Eden would get no where by doing that, but in the moment it relieved some of the built up tension in her brain.

With Draco's wand being pulled away and put back in his pocket Lucius gained the confidence to stand once more. He completely ignored what Draco said to him.

"You'll have to spend a long time explaining what you did to her now that she knows you've been lying. You should be thanking your dear father for this. Without me you'd be miserable and always debating with yourself if you should or shouldn't tell her. I've done the hard part. You just have to explain now."

"You have not done anything helpful since the day I was bloody born! Get out of my house!"

"This was my house before it was your's-"

"GET OUT!"

Draco stepped forward toward his father who went right out the door and apparated out of the house completely.

Now that he was alone, he could finally tend to Eden though there was not much he could do in terms of her pain.

The most he could do was numb it, but even then it would not get rid of the feeling completely and to be honest it would just be a waste of time and energy.

Malfoy walked over to the bedside looking at her squirm slightly whenever a wave would hit her.

"What do you know Abella?"

"More than I'm supposed to."

"I asked what you know..."

He was being dead serious.

This was not the time to be beating around the bush.

It was not a game, but she knew that. Eden just wanted to hear him say it.

His father had come and fucked up his whole plan.

It appeared that that was the only thing that man was good for.

Making everything a mess.

Pansy creaked the door open just enough to peer her head in and then the rest of her body once Malfoy caught a glimpse of her presence.

"Let her tell you later. She is in pain right now. She cannot think straight. Let me handle this-"

"The last time I let you handle something, she was nearly dead in her bathtub. You will not be doing anything of the sort. At least not while I'm alive and breathing."

"Bloody hell Draco will you ever forgive me for that?!" She rose her voice and stared at him wide eyed.

"NO! You almost killed her. People are not replaceable Pansy! If she was successful do you understand how much trouble I would be in... How much trouble YOU would be in! Your baby! Your family-"

"STOP yelling!"

Both Pansy and Draco whipped their heads toward Eden in shock. The girl just rose her voice not only at Draco, but at Pansy too. 

That was a first.

"You two are always yelling! Go outside if you're going to be shouting! My head is fucking hurting!"

Malfoy stayed silent while Eden went off on her little rant.

"You blame her for what I did, but it was not her fault. She left and she thought I was okay because I told her I was okay. You can't blame people for things they weren't even present for. Please just let her care for me. She's a mother, she knows what she's doing."

After all those memories came rushing back to Eden, she was still unable to understand Draco and his obsession with her and her safety. 

From what she remembered he was an absolute pain to be around, very entitled and selfish and he did not like her, so why the sudden change? 

It confused her.

Finally after all the screaming and yelling, Draco stepped out of the room allowing Pansy to be alone with the girl once again.

He waited outside the door for her in case anything did go sour. He would be right there to jump into action had he needed to.

When Pansy came out of the bedroom, Eden followed after her and as they walked to the living room. Draco followed closely behind them.

Eden changed out of the uncomfortable clothes, her hair was down to help relieve the pain and it appeared as though she took a shower.

Afterward when Pansy was explaining everything it all made sense.

The heat from the water would take away from the pain. Letting her hair fall loose would allow her to feel less tension on her head and changing out of the clothes she was wearing was just something Pansy instructed for her to be more comfortable.

As the night passed Pansy tended to her daughter while Eden ran off to her room, claiming she needed some alone time.

It was understandable, but it worried Draco.

He had no clue what memories his father brought forth up until that point and was scared to even ask and find out.

By the time Eden was asleep again, he was left wondering the same thing he wondered all day and even after trying to sleep for hours and hours he was still tossing and turning in his sheets eager to know the answer.

What did she remember now. Was it going to mess everything up?

Perhaps now was a good time to tell her everything since she must have been growing suspicious after all that...

But he couldn't just up and tell her out of nowhere.

It would be to much and she wouldn't believe him.

In order to pick up from what she already knew, he needed to know what she did indeed know.

Night after night for a week Draco went to her room after being unable to sleep.

He found it comforting when he slept near her.

Something about it calmed him down though he didn't know why...

It was probably because of his father and how he broke in so easily or because he always went to Eden when he was in need of comfort in the past.

Nonetheless, Eden's presence made him feel better and she wouldn't know anything about his little visits when she woke up in the mornings.

For the next weeks Eden spent her days practicing, eating, sleeping, walking... She never gave herself a break until Pansy would cut in and tell her dancing all day and night was not healthy for her.

"Why do you do that?" Pansy asked and walked beside Eden as she made her way back to her room for the night.

"Do what?"

"You overwork yourself. You dance from when you wake up in the morning to when you fall asleep at night. Why?"

Eden sighed and wrapped her small hand around the knob on her door. "I forget about the rest of my problems when I dance... Call it an escape. Dancing is the only way I can feel like I'm breathing and when I say breathing I mean breathing like I'm not forced to do so every day of my life. It's stupid, but it's true. Everyone has some sort of escape. Dancing is mine, even if it means I work myself over."


	31. Chapter 31

February was one of those months that just felt like a time placer for spring.

Eden never took a liking to this month. She found it out of place, in the middle of no where. 

There were only 29 or 28 days, the only thing she ever celebrated was valentines... It was a very lonely month.

Though something about this February made it worse than the rest. Something that was unavoidable. Something that made her feel sick to her stomach.

It was the month she needed to dance for him... 

Voldemort.

Eden was more than prepared, but that didn't matter to her. Sure she was confident in the dance, but that did not mean she was confident enough to stand in front of the person she would eventually end up spending the rest of her life with and dance for his pleasure.

Not only did the thought absolutely disgust her, it made her feel trapped and scared. There was no escape, just like there was no escape from the manor and no escape from Voldemort. She didn't even have her magic so if she were to escape she would be useless and defenceless.

They could have caught her in a matter of seconds.

Her thoughts were no longer on the topic of escaping. She threw that option away a long time ago. She was finally in the acceptance stage.

First it was denial, then anger, depression, and acceptance. It was the final stage and she could feel herself preparing for what her future was going to become.

It was no longer "I would never admit my love to him", but instead, "I'll admit my love to him only because the sooner I do so the sooner I can have some of my freedom back."

She knew she would probably never fully get her magic back because she knew Voldemort would never trust her, even if they were soulmates, husband and wife, parents... He would never, ever trust her because she was stubborn.

Though she was having all these notions in her head, Eden was not planning on giving up just yet. There was something holding her down.

She wanted to know the truth, whether it be from Draco himself or Pansy, or Lucius, or even Voldemort because there was absolutely no way that she stuck with Harry to the end of his life.

Not after the way he was acting in those memories.

So different than she remembered.

Knowing that her memories had been tampered with just made her want to punch a hole in the wall.

The memories would come to her at random times, when she was dancing, when she was eating, even when she was playing with Pansy's little girl down in the living room. 

It was just for a moment, a very small moment, but she remembered being heartbroken shortly after she slept with Harry in the memory she just got back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a cold February day as Eden practiced in the ballroom alone and in the dark, something came back to her.

She fell to the floor when it hit her, so suddenly that if she did not put her hands out in front of her she probably could have lost a tooth or two.

"How long Harry? How long have you been sleeping with her. W-With Ginny Weasley!"

How could this be... Harry wouldn't do that. Not with his best friends sister.

"7 months."

No. This needed to stop. Now was not the time.

"I hate you Harry! I fucking hate you! Get out! G-Get out!"

"Eden-"

"GET OUT!"

"Abella? What's happened?" The deep voice pulled her out of her head and she looked up at the boy with platinum hair kneeling right beside her.

"Nothing. It's nothing." Eden stood and fixed herself up again, pulling tightly at the edges of her shirt to get any wrinkles out.

With all the memories came all the feelings and it was rushing to her heart like she was experiencing the hurt all over again. 

The pit was quick to form in her stomach and tears pricked her eyes. She wiped them and walked over to the glass of water she filled and placed in the corner.

"You're lying."

"Please stop prying Malfoy. It is nothing."

"You're upset."

She huffed and turned, looking into his eyes firmly. "When am I not?"

"You remember Harry don't you..."

Did he hear her? 

Was that what just happened?

That was it. 

Eden remembered. 

She remembered from the night her and Hermione went to the ballet performance. When Draco caught her alone in the alley. 

It felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders and her face dropped.

"Oh my- I remember... You're a mind reader. I remember!"

She remembers... She's not even mad that I invaded her mind... Her privacy.

Draco thought as he nervously crossed his arms over his chest.

Although he tried his hardest to keep his face as serious as he could, the mask was slipping away when he saw her smile with joy for remembering such a minor detail about himself.

He stared at her for a few seconds without any expression, just blank and the feeling inside of him felt the same.

Draco couldn't move or speak and it felt like he couldn't even breathe. 

She remembered something about him and that gave him hope.

One of the main reasons he did not want to tell her the truth was because he was scared she would not remember and he would be more distraught than he already felt whenever he laid his eyes upon her.

Eden was too happy to make him stay serious and a small smirk was beginning to tug at the corners of his mouth. His expression tightened when the footsteps of another person could be heard walking into the room.

"Am I interrupting something?" Pansy placed her daughter onto the ground and she quickly came running, hugging onto Eden's leg and tugging at at the ribbon of her ballet shoes.

"Not at all... Eden just slipped. I came to make sure she was alright." His eyes broke away from her's and he looked down at the baby on the floor beside them, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up and off of the floor. "Get back to what you were doing. You look like you're falling behind anyway."

After Draco left the room with the baby in his arms, Pansy walked over to Eden and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You know how he is when he's in a bad mood. You're doing great. You want to dance for me-"

"No no. He's right. I've been taking a lot of breaks recently. I should be working more. It's almost the Valentine's day. That is the day I'm going..."

Not only did she have to prepare for the dance, but for what came after the dance.

Surely if Voldemort got handsy last time, he would think he was entitled to get handsy again and without anything stopping him this time.

Eden could only pray it would be fast and quick.

It was taking over her mind the closer the day came. 

Every day before then she just tried to ignore it and push it aside. She didn't want to think about it, but now that her visit was right around the corner, she was beginning to realize the severity of her situation.

The next nights were horrid not only for Eden, but for Draco as well.

If she were up he would be up too. If she were crying he would be sitting in the corner watching her, making sure she didn't do anything to try and hurt herself, but the worst was when she got her panic attacks.

They were starting once again.

Twice almost every night Eden would wake up. The feeling of suffocation was prominent and she gasped for air like there was none surrounding her. 

The girls chest felt tight and her eyes were blurry with tears. It would take about an hour before Draco could get her calm enough to lay down in her bed again and then another half hour before she could even fall asleep.

With the lack of sleep she was receiving, the Dark Lord would have thought Draco was mistreating her and now that things were getting more serious between them, those things would actually begin to matter.

So as a solution, Draco would spike Eden's water with a Sleeping Draught potion right before she went to her room. 

It would not work forever, but it was a good substitute for now. It did its job well and kept her asleep all night.

Those nights when she did get a full night of sleep were too the only nights Draco could get any sleep, but still not in the comfort of his own bed.

He insisted he stay in the chair in the corner of her room every night just in case. 

Even Pansy tried to intervene, but what she didn't realize was that Draco was starting to get attached once again.

He was doing so well the months before, keeping his bad, rude, loathsome image... But after the thought of her remembering him was planted in his brain, he was obsessed and everything he once felt for her was coming back.

The possessiveness, the worry, the protectiveness.

Draco had no clue how he was going to deal with knowing what the Dark Lord planned on doing with her the next time he saw her and the worst part was he couldn't stop him because if he even tried he would be killed and Eden would be completely alone, to fend for herself and the thought of that made his insides cringe...


	32. Chapter 32

Breathe in...

Breathe out...

You're fine Eden. Everything is going to be okay. The faster you get it done the faster you'll be out of there. 

Don't cry. 

You're stronger then that.

Those words repeated over and over again in Eden's head as she paced back and forth in her room, waiting for Malfoy to come and drag her back to the place she dreaded so much.

For days upon days she had no energy to do anything. 

No eating, no drinking, no dancing. She hadn't even gone outside for a week and the lack of fresh air was starting to get to her. 

She felt so claustrophobic in her own skin.

The door flung open and Draco stepped in without any warning meaning that if she was naked he would have seen everything...

He ran his thumb on his bottom lip out of nervous habit and looked at the nervous girl dressed in the same white dress she was wearing the day that vampire almost took her life. "You're ready?"

Eden nodded her head and looked back out the window one last time taking in one final deep breath. 

The next thing he knew Eden was standing in front of him awaiting the grasp of his hand around her upper arm to apparate.

For a moment Draco could only stare down at her with his lips pressed into a firm line and his eyes filled with such gravity. He was confused as to why she was so eager to leave the comfort of her own bedroom. He could see it in her eyes, they were glossy... Eden was scared, but she still waited impatiently for their travel.

"I want to get this over with. The sooner I get out of there the sooner I can comprehend what happened."

If he could hug her he would...

He would tell her everything would be okay. That he wouldn't let anything happen to her even if she had nothing but the smallest bit of trust in him. 

He would figure something out.

He would and he knew that. 

No matter how loyal he pretended to be to Voldemort, he would never let him lay finger on her bare skin even if that meant he had to risk his own life and safety to do so.

Draco grabbed onto her and as soon as she knew it they were back in the huge room she always came to when she visited. Up on the throne was Voldemort, as usual, but something new was there with him...

Eden caught a glimpse of her surroundings before she almost fell forward from the loss of balance when her feet hit the ground beneath them.

All these times and she was still unable to handle all of the apparation.

After the war she was as useless as a ropeless skipping rope.

"Be smart."

Eden caught it.

The words came from Malfoy, who had gritted teeth and said it so quietly that only she could have heard it.

She hadn't even realized his arm was around her torso, keeping her from falling flat on her face until he unwrapped it and fixed his jacket.

"Well don't you look lovely today Eden." Voldemort started, admiring her from a distance.

She looked down at the ground, fearing that if she moved she would crumble into a pile of her own emotions and Eden was certain she would start crying if she opened her mouth to speak to him.

Breathing at a normal pace was becoming difficult for her and her hands were shaking down by her sides though from far it could have been mistaken for her full body...

Or maybe her full body was shaking and she just didn't realize.

"She's tired... She hasn't gotten much sleep lately."

The boy who brought her here took her by her arm harshly and brought her forth to the Dark Lord who was still sitting up on his chair like he did not have a problem on this earth that could be inconveniencing him.

"I hope you're not too tired... I think today is the day you promised you would be dancing for me... Is that why you've gotten yourself all done up."

"I almost died in this dress. This is not done up."

In her defence it slipped out of her mouth as it was on the tip of her tongue. 

She looked up at the snake after hearing a sudden hissing sound coming from it. It was violent and filled with anger.

She backed right up into Draco not even regarding him or apologizing after she did so. She was too scared to, but it was not like he was expecting it anyway.

The Dark Lord huffed and waved his hand toward the snake. "Hush Nagini. The brat is always like this... You'll get used to it sooner rather than later..."

Draco slightly shoved her off of him and put her back on her own in the centre of the room where she stood awkwardly waiting for someone to break the silence that filled the air.

Eden was definitely not going to be the one to start such conversation.

"I think you'd look even better with the dress off hmm? What do you think Malfoy? On or off."

"Erm- Well in order for her to dance she will be needed her dress right?"

Her hands balled in and out of fists and every time they closed again, her nails would dig right into her palms.

Please agree with him... PLEASE agree with him.

This is the only time Malfoy's opinions will ever have meaning to me...

"Yes. You're absolutely right Draco. The dress would add to the dance. Perhaps after all of that... After all of that Draco can step out into the hall."

That was it.

That was the sentence that got her tears to spill from her eyes and the worst part was that it was so silent that everyone heard.

Probably even the guards out in the hallway heard too.

But how else was she supposed to react to a statement like that?

"My Lord, I hate to be the barer of bad news, but Eden is needed at the manor right after her dance. You see, she fell while rehearsing her routine for you and the doctor that I have hired to come and take a look will be at my house right after." Draco took a step forward and explained his clearly made up story to the man he was supposed to be loyal to.

Sure, Eden might have known it was made up and sure, she was confused as hell, but by the look on Voldemort's face, he believed every bit of it.

He looked over the crying girl in discomfort and let out a huff. "If I cannot have my fun today I guess we shall wait for another time... How about two months. That should be enough time for you to get prepared. I hate seeing tears. Stop crying."

"S-Sorry..." Eden wiped them and looked up at the ceiling, hoping that it would stop the tears from falling down her face.

"Just dance for me. I don't want to interact with you if this is the way you are choosing to behave yourself..."

Draco flicked his wand and her shoes appears right in front of her.

When he stepped away and to the side of the room to give her the space she needed, he did not take his eyes off of her once.

Occasionally he would glance over and see the perverted faces he would make while watching her spin and jump and pour all of her emotions into the way her feet pointed of her body moved... The pained expressions she would make while thinking of her problems.

This girl seriously was one of the best dancers in the world... Just like everyone told her, just like everyone wrote about in the papers... Just like her friends once told her. Her family too.

The sudden clapping of the Dark Lord snapped him out of his thoughts and he peered over curiously at him.

"That was wonderful. Just as I remember. You're so passionate about what you do Eden. So amazing to watch. I won't make you choreograph another routine for me, though if that is something you wish to do then be my guest. I could benefit from it. Take care of your injured-"

The Dark Lord waited for Eden to fill in the blank, but instead Draco stepped up and spoke for her. "Her ankle Lord."

"Ah yes. Your ankle. You're free to leave now." Voldemort shifted in his seat and watched Eden and Draco until they were completely out of the room, no where near him anymore.

They were back at the manor and how thankful she was for that.

Poor girl could have fallen to the floor and kissed it from the relief she was feeling.

No touching, no trauma to her head, not even a scratch on her body, aside from her bleeding palms of course.

It finally felt like she could exhale and really take in the emotions she was feeling.

It was the type of feeling she used to feel whenever class ended for the weekend, or when she could finish an assignment early or a better example would be when summer rose around. 

This feeling... 

It was freedom.

She felt free back at the manor.

Pansy was here, baby Eden was here...

What else could she have possibly needed aside from new clothes and a book to read.

The only person who seemed to care about her was Pansy anyway.

What Eden meant by that was the only person who cared for her by their own will.

When Draco did things he was only looking out for himself. If she was not eating, he only helped her because he did not want to get in trouble or he did not want to get hurt. 

He said it all the time too. "I'm doing this for the Dark Lord. We'll both get in trouble if we let this happen." That was the famous line Eden heard way too much around here.


	33. Chapter 33

The next day Eden slept in and no one came to wake her up so she just enjoyed it while it lasted. It was not every day she got to sleep in past 8 am.

The feeling was so nice and refreshing.

Being so warm in her sheets and the amount of rest she got made up for all the days she lost.

No longer did she have to worry about a stupid routine for a stupid person who she hated. She was free. Her days would be open once again.

By 2 pm Tissy was in her room to grab her. 

The house elf woke her up by tapping on her arm, then her face since she was not waking up by the feeling in her arm.

It took her a few minutes to lazily throw on her clothes and pull her hair back into a ponytail.

Soon she was following Tissy out the door and to the living room where Pansy waited for her.

The first thing she did when she saw her was run over and give her a warm hug.

Pansy's hugs were so meaningful. 

They made Eden happier. 

Her presence just made the girl happier. 

She felt like she knew so much about her, but at the same time Eden knew absolutely nothing aside from all the rumours that were told a school.

Pansy sat with Eden, checking on her baby and showing her the latest Daily Prophet.

Despite the ugly topics discussed in the paper, Eden felt a sense of relief while reading it.

After months of feeling like there was no more world around her, it was good to know that things were still out there. Stores and people. They're lives were not easy, but who's was nowadays.

It reminded her that muggles still had no idea what was happening behind the scenes. They were so oblivious to everything.

Kids still went to school. Adults still went to work. And old people were living out their days happily in retirement.

Eden wished so badly that she would have stayed a muggle and never found out about her magic. 

She's been wishing that since the war started, but now that was the only thing she could dream about when she slept at night.

Muggles her age were out partying, travelling even, and she was locked up in this house and though it was beautiful, it got quite boring after a while.

The doors to the room swung open and both Eden and Pansy looked over their shoulders.

"Pansy out."

"What?-"

"Did I stutter? Get out."

"What's the matter with you-"

"Get. OUT." His voice boomed as he watched both the girls flinch where they were sitting.

Oh great...

Alone in a room with a psychotic maniac. Today was totally against Eden. The vibe did not match her happiness.

With Pansy out of the room he locked eyes with Eden, giving her the look that made her shake in terror at what he was going to do next.

"You behaved horribly yesterday... HORRIBLY Abella!"

It all caught her by surprise. The sudden yelling and the violent hand gestures as he spoke.

"Try putting yourself in my shoes. It's not as easy as you would think. Knowing the things he wants to do to me. Knowing that when you leave that room he'll have his hands down my pants, feeling every part of me and telling me it's fine when it's NOT fine-"

"You started to fucking cry!" Draco exclaimed, voice rising in pitch at the last part. "You started to cry in front of him... In front of me. In front of everyone there! That was horrible."

"You'd be crying if you were standing there too. Do you know how hard it is for me to wake up everyday knowing that my life now consists of eating, getting ready, playing with a child who is not even mine and going back to sleep? Imagine that everyday for the last 5 months." Considering the heavy amounts of screaming he was throwing at her, Eden kept her composure and talked very calmly to him. There was no point in raising her voice if the only outcome would be Draco raising his louder.

"That was embarrassing. That is what that was."

As he rolled his eyes and paced back and forth by the door Eden changed the subject from her to him and things that he said and did yesterday. "What was the whole 'she's got an injury' bit. Why did you do that? You could not have cared any less about me or my wellbeing and by the way you're describing it, you were extremely embarrassed so why did you do that for me?"

He stayed silent.

That bastard knew something she didn't. It was too obvious now. 

She wanted to know too. 

Why would he not just tell her?

"I want to know what you know."

"I know absolutely nothing Abella. You don't know what you're talking about."

"You can't tell me that because I know you're lying."

"I'm NOT lying!" He shouted loudly.

Don't flinch.

Make him know how unfazed you are. How strong you are.

"Yes you are!" Her voice rose finally matching the tone of his. "Your father said it himself!"

They stared at each other from across the room waiting for the other to do or say something. Eden was not planning on starting and neither was Draco... So the two of them stood in silence for a few seconds longer. They needed a break anyway.

"You're so stupid." He mumbled with a shake of his head and walked to the couch, sitting down and running his fingers through his already messy hair. "I knew this would be a problem."

"That what would be a problem?"

"You remembering. Of course my father has to come and mess up everything for me. You're already too attached as it is-"

"Attached?!" Eden exclaimed with surprise. "I hope you do not mean attached to yourself because I am not attached to you, or anyone for that matter."

Draco huffed and looked up at her once again.

What is the point in lying anymore.

It was not benefitting anyone at this point.

Draco was always unhappy when he saw her, remembering everything they had been through and Eden wanted to know the truth... Lying to her was just going to make her upset and Voldemort did not go through her mind anymore so there would be no problem there...

Her voice softened. "Just tell me Malfoy. I just want to remember."

"You do remember-"

"I mean I want to remember the real memories I had. The one's I have now are fake. They're not real. I could put two and two together after remembering that Harry and I were having issues. I don't stay with people who upset me."

Well shit...

He knew Eden was smart, but this was unbelievable. How could she have been so positive that her and Harry broke up without even knowing if it was true.

"Bloody hell..."

He was going to regret this.

"Tonight. I'll come to your room and let you see everything because I know it is tucked somewhere in that pathetic head of yours."

A small smile grew on her lips.

Of course she was successful. Eden had a way of getting what she wanted. "I'll see you there then."

"Tissy!" The small elf appeared right beside Malfoy's leg. "Escort Eden back to her room. She needs rest."

Rest? How much energy was this going to drain from her?

She knew how Legilimency worked and that it would be painful, but what if she got knocked out for days, weeks... Months even. 

That would be horrible. 

She would sure as hell be taken from his care and given to a much worse Death Eater who would not care about her as much as Draco did...

Maybe she was wrong this morning.

Maybe Pansy was not the only one who cared for her...

After Tissy walked out of the room with Eden, Draco stayed on the couch taking in the tiny bit of quiet time he had before he was forced to turn around and have a conversation with the woman who just walked into the room.

"You're telling her?"

"Don't even start Pansy. I'm doing it because she already knows something is fishy. If I continue this deception for any longer she will not trust me anymore. I need her to trust me in order for her to survive. Without trust she wouldn't calm down when I'm there to help her back to her feet and without trust she would not let me help her when she needed it the most, like when she got her black eye. She would be miserable once again." Draco explained. His back was against the chair and his head was lying against the backrest allowing him to look up at the high ceiling.

"I think she's only happy because I'm here to be completely honest."

As Pansy spoke, Draco stood and grabbed the baby out of her arms, holding her in his own.

"This is dangerous Pansy... Who knows what she'll do after she knows. She'll definitely be mad at me. I know she will. What I did was unforgivable."

"She'll know you were doing it to protect her Draco. She's a smart girl and you know it. I don't think she'll be mad for more than 2 days, but I do think you will need to give her some space. She'll need it after you unload everything on her. Eden does not take nicely to big news. We know this."

"Eden will hate me." He looked into Pansy's daughter's eyes for a moment before placing her down on the floor where all her toys were.

Pansy sighed and scooted closer. "Do you understand how much you have done for her? How much you have sacrificed. Hell, you even dragged me over here to make her happier. If she were to hate you after you've done all this, I'll be the one slapping some sense into her."

"And imagine all the horrible things I have done. I let her starve, I let her hurt herself, I've kept her locked up in her room for weeks and weeks, she has absolutely no privacy and I have said some very cruel things that I did not mean to her. She thinks I'm dreadful-"

"Enough about this Draco. You will see. Eden will be thankful you let her know the truth. Imagine how relieving it would feel for you to finally get it off your chest. Being able to look at her and know that she remembers everything that has happened between you two. All the times you stepped in for her... All the times she stepped in for you and hey, who knows, you might even bring back some memories she lost during the war when she hit her head. This will benefit you both."

No, Pansy was absolutely right, but why did he still not feel all that well about this.

Draco was never one to get nervous... Ever.

Later on that night, after Eden spent the whole day pacing back and forth, tapping on the icy window and laying on her bed, Draco appeared just like he said he would.

When he walked in he looked her up and down quickly, but not in a gross and perverted way.

She was wearing what she usually slept it. It was the most comfortable and if she really was going to be experiencing so much pain, she would at least like to be comfortable.

"Are you sure Abella? This is what you want?" The boy only wanted to make sure.

"Well... Obviously."

"Lay down." He instructed and leaned against the wooden door. With a quick whisper he mumbled a charm "Muffliato".

The muffling charm. 

It would muffle Eden's screams for anyone in the vicinity, or rather the house's entirety.

Right after he did so, the boy walked over and got onto the bed, right on top of her.

"You're sure?"

"Do it."

"But-"

"Do it Malfoy. I'm not a child, I can handle it."

Eden read right through him.

Who couldn't.

He was making it so obvious that he was worrying for her and her wellbeing by how many times he asked if she was sure she was wanted to do this.

Suddenly, his eyes locked with her's. Her hands curled up into fists which Draco held down by her wrists. Had he not done so her arms would do thrashing everywhere trying to get him off. That was a natural reaction to Legilimency though.

Her screams were ear piercing and anyone who did not know what was going on would have thought that the girl was being brutally murdered at his hands.

Her eyes shut tightly.

Relax Eden.

Relax Eden.

Just relax.

She kept telling herself in her mind and the more she concentrated on it, the more it worked. She was feeling more relaxed on the inside, but the outside was only getting worse.

If Draco were thinking like his father, he would have made her bite down on something, but it was too late for that. Now that he was in, he needed to do what he had to do. Let her see her past...

Her real past...


	34. Memory 4

December, 1997

Still not a sign of Draco Malfoy coming to bring Eden her things.

He told her he would find her, but he lied. A whole month had gone by and Eden was 99% certain him and his father burned all her things in a large fire. Those two never liked her anyway. It was not that big of a deal. It was just clothes. She could get new one's, but with what money...

That was the biggest issue Eden had to face during her month away from the Malfoy's.

The Weasley's allowed her to stay with them for as long as she needed, but they were overly nice. Eden was thankful for the invitation into their beloved home, but she felt like she was invading her space.

Even if Harry and Hermione stayed there all the time, she did not want to be a bother.

One day in November she had gotten herself a tiny flat. It was on the second floor of a floral shop and the old lady was so kind that she let Eden rent it out for a few pounds off. That lady was such an angel.

In the midst of all of this, she failed to realize her money was running low and converting galleons to pounds for the rest of her life was not going to work forever.

So she decided to find a job.

A muggle job.

She was living in a muggle city, in a muggle area with muggle jobs so why not. She needed the pounds and not galleons anyway.

Hermione joined her on her job hunting.

She suggested a bunch of restaurants, bars... Basically places that you could make easy money just for being hot and having a nice pair of knockers, but every spot she wanted to apply to got taken by someone else or they'd just downright ignored her because of her age.

Without anything to put on a resume, it was very difficult to find any kind of job willing to take her. She never went to school here, never did any activities here, hell this was the longest time she'd ever been in London.

One night, both Hermione and Eden sat on the couch of her apartment, listening to music through the radio Eden had in her kitchen when Hermione had the sudden birth of an idea.

"I know you'll hate me for this one, but have you ever considered stripping? B-Before you get mad at me, all I'm saying is that you have the perfect body for it, you're already a dancer and now that I am really thinking about it, they make tons of money. Imagine, you'd probably get hundreds of dollars in tips a night and if I'm doing my math correctly you could probably make more than £1000 every week. Oh and imagine on a good day. Maybe a man would give you £500 just for talking with him about neuroscience."

That wasn't a bad idea.

There was nothing wrong with it either. It was just another form of dancing.

In ballet, you often had to change in front of all kinds of people anyway. Eden was sure it was like that for every kind of dance.

She had seen more boobs and penis' than she did wild ducks in a pond.

But this was still not right...

"My age Hermione. I'm not of age. I'm only 17 they won't hire me-"

"That my friend is why we are witches. You won't need to worry about it. Go to an interview and I'll control some things behind the scenes."

"But I told you Mione... I don't want to cheat my way into a job. I want to get it for me. If you do that I will not feel like I earned it you know?"

Hermione sighed and laid completely back on the couch. "It's either that or you'll go broke. If it were me in your position I would choose to make the money... But to each their own Eden. To each their own..."

Don't cave in...

Money sounds nice in the long run, but once she got it she would feel guilty for it. She would feel unworthy.

But it's money Eden... Just do it. Who even cares anyway?

Not even a day after her talk with Hermione, Eden got a call back...

She got the job.

Now not only was Eden a witch amidst the chaos of an arising war, but she was now a part time stripper at Oasis Night Club located exactly two blocks away from her residency.

On her first night, she felt weird and awkward walking around with a thong and her breasts being pushed up by her bra.

So many people stared, men and women, which Eden did not have a problem with since she was not planning on taking any of them home, but working a night job was harder than it seemed.

Often days Eden would sleep until it was time for her shift, missing out on everything her and her friends planned on doing. But as the days grew colder and the threat of Voldemort's army was becoming realer, they did not seem to be getting together anymore.

Harry was always busy with Professor Lupin who had come to him in hopes that he would be the face of the opposing army.

Ron was always with Harry; Wherever he went that silly boy followed.

Hermione was busy learning potions and spells that could aid in any attack and Fred, one of her best friends, was basically the only one around at that point. Hermione would come to visit once a week, but Fred was at Eden's almost every day of his life.

He would wake her up from her slumber and hang out with her until it was time for her to go to work, which he then walked her to.

It was quite sweet, Eden thought so.

Fred was worried for her. He was like a big brother to her. So supportive and so protective.

To be completely honest, she felt like Fred was one of the only boys she could trust. Harry could not know everything if he was always busy and dismissing her, George down right just did not like her very much and Ron... Well Ron was fine too, but she was closer with his brother than she ever was with him.

The conversation was the same every night,

"Don't come in Fred!"

"But why not! I want to see you dance too! Why do all these men get to see all these hot girls in thongs, but I cannot-"

"Absolutely not! You'd see me too. That is a NO NO! Now you could either wait out here and pout about it all night or you can go home like I've told you millions of times. I can walk myself home after work. I'm a big girl-"

"Not big enough Eden. I'll be here at 3 to pick you up?"

"That is 6 hours from now. You'll be asleep and in bed I hope. Don't worry yourself about me... Now go. I'm busy."

Of course the stubborn boy would never listen to her, always be back at 3am to pick her up and bring her home and then he would just end up crashing on her couch after.

It went on for two weeks until Eden put a boundary in place. 

He was allowed to walk her to work, but walking her home was no more. She needed some privacy in her life and if he did that every night she would feel like she never got a second alone.

On her 18th night of working at that club, she was thriving. A man had come for his birthday, all his friends were there too. They were loaded and had nothing else to do with their money except throw it at her as she danced on a pole around their table.

Eden thought it must have been because of what she was wearing. Red lingerie that sculpted all her curves perfectly. It cost her a pretty penny to get it, but it was working to her advantage and at the rate she was going, she could have earned back all the money she spent in a matter of half an hour.

When she finished dancing, she stepped down from the small stage with the help of another worker, but her attention was pulled away by an obvious drunk man with the burning need of a woman's attention.

"Hey!"

Maybe if she pretended she did not hear him, he would buzz off and leave her alone.

"Hey!"

Is his voice getting louder or am I just crazy?

"W-What does a man have to do around here to g-get a lap dance?" He looked down at her bottom and then at the back of her head.

Well... It was too late to pretend she hadn't heard now.

Eden turned her head first followed by her body and with a forced smile on her face she started, "Sir would you like some water? You look a bit parched..." That was good. Steer the direction of the conversation to something else. "I can take you to get some-"

"What I need is you on my l-lap." He stepped toward her aggressively.

Even the forced smile was getting hard to keep on her face. It fell as he got closer and closer.

"Sir I'm sorry but I cannot do that for you."

"W-Why is that beautiful?"

"Because I said no."

The panic was starting to show through her. The girl kept backing up and backing up but it seemed like there was no one to bump into or get her attention away from this creepy predator.

"Just for a few minutes... I'll give you a nice reward."

"No..."

The man did not take lightly to her refusal. With a sudden swipe he grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him. As he did so, Eden gasped with fear and looked into his eyes. "Are you sure? You look very lovely in that outfit of yours." His hand brushed through her long hair. "I've been watching you all night Eden."

That was really unsettling...

"N-No. Could you please let go."

His eyes diverted to her breasts and with a horrified stare she quickly tried to get free from his grasp. This man was dangerous even if he did not intend on doing anything with her. If this were happening to anyone else they would not have liked it.

"Stop.. Let go."

She pushed on his chest with her free hand and watched as he looked back into her eyes.

Was no one looking?

Did no one care? 

Did no one see what he was doing to her? 

Considering where they were at, people must have just thought it was normal to be this close to a man without it being a red flag.

"Stop-"

"She said to stop!" Two cold hands on her shoulder pulled her away from the man and rather to his body in a more protective way.

"Stop, go... S-Same thing."

The person who grabbed her pushed her behind them gently and got face to face with the man who was harassing her. He was so much taller and bigger than the drunken man... Hang on-

Platinum hair... Cool hands... Fit and tall.

"And who are you? Her night in shining armour?"

"What? Can I not be a concerned bystander?" He leaned in closer and lowered his voice enough so that Eden couldn't hear what he was saying. "I think-... and then-... how does that sound?"

Whatever he said sure did scare the man away because in a matter of seconds the drunkard was running to the door with his tail between his damn legs.

"As for you..." He turned around to face her now. Blue eyes meeting her brown ones. "You're quitting this job immediately."

"Malfoy-"

HOW EMBARRASSING!

After trying so hard to keep it a secret from everyone aside from Hermione and Fred, Draco just showed up in the club without a single ounce of guilt? 

How did he even find her?

Well, he did say he would be able to, but she underestimated his ability. She thought maybe he was talking about finding where she lived or a place nearby, but no. He found her exact location.

"I'm not quitting anything. I didn't need your help. I was fine on my own."

Lies. Complete and utter lies were spilling from her mouth right now, but there was no way she would admit she was thankful for his help.

"You don't know what he was planning on doing with you Abella. You're lucky I showed up when I did. Nonetheless you're leaving early. I'm here and it's the only time I have to speak with you and return your things."

She looked behind her at the wall, on it was a clock with the time reading around 2:15am. A 45 minute difference to when she was really supposed to leave work was not so harmful to her. She would be able to explain her absence on Monday when she returned after the weekend.

"Fine. Let me grab my things. Go wait outside or something. It's too loud in here and I don't think you want to stay in here by the look on your face."

"The one and only thing you have ever been correct about Abella. Be quick. I do not have all the time in the world."

In five minutes Eden had everything ready. She left in a hoodie and sweatpants, hair in a bun and a change of sneakers to be more comfortable on her walk home. The baggy clothes drew less attention to her, which she made sure of because who knew what sick people could have been waiting to take her and do horrible things to her when she walked out those back doors.

There was always security, but they were not with her the whole way home.

The clothes she wore just made her feel safer walking at such early hours of the morning.

Draco grabbed her by her shoulder and instead of walking the whole 15 minutes home, he apparated them right to her apartment. Not even outside in the hallway. Inside.

Eden did not have the time to put anti-apparation enchantments on it yet, though she should have gotten on that fast because it was dangerous.

The only reason why she did not do that in the first place was because she would most likely get caught when trying to do it by a muggle. If she got caught she would dig herself a deep unescapable hole and it would follow her around until she was punished for it by the ministry.

The sudden rush got to her head and she tripped on her feet hitting her shoulder roughly against the wall. Thank god it was there, without it she would have fell right onto her face and that would have made her even more embarrassed than she was right that second.

"How the hell did you even get that job? You're 17. You're a fucking child-"

"Malfoy I am 1 year younger than you. I am no child. I know what I'm doing. I need money. You would do it too had you needed it..."

Draco chuckled and followed Eden from the front door to the kitchen where she pulled out a bowl from her fridge and than a fork. She sat down at the stool which was placed at the small island that separated the living room and kitchen. As she began to eat, Draco walked around to the other side and placed his palms flat on the counter, watching her in disbelief.

The girl was so casual about all of this.

"I actually would not. How long has this been happening? When did you get the job! You're fucking crazy if you think you're still working there."

Who was he to come in and tell her what she could and couldn't do. She was a big girl. She could figure out her problems by herself. Not with the help of someone who clearly was annoyed by her presence.

"It's been happening for a few weeks now. 2 and a half or something. Listen I don't know why it concerns you this much, but you are not the one with money problems Malfoy. I don't even know why you stepped in. The Malfoy I know would never do that for someone he disliked... Do you like me..?" The last sentence was sarcastic as she made flirty eyes toward him.

Of course, he didn't like the joke. Sarcasm was not his thing.

"You're not even of age and you're letting old men put their hands all over your body... Touch you in places- Oh god that's disgusting Abella! I fucking hope you haven't slept with any of them. Then I would think you have completely lost all respect for yourself-"

"Ew! Are you mad?! Of course I haven't slept with anyone. That's not in my job description... Yet."

"Yet?!"

"Loosen up will you? It was a joke." Eden rolled her eyes and rested her back against the wall while swinging the chair back and forth. She still ate her salad being unbothered by Draco and his odd and random possessiveness over her and what she did.

Perhaps he was really just looking after her? But why would he? The last time they saw each other he tried to Crucio her...

"If money is what you need I'd be happy to give it to you if that meant you quit that horrible job of yours." He walked around to the other side and put all his weight on his left arm which now rested against the table.

That would have been a lifesaver...

But this was Draco Malfoy they were talking about. If he did something "generous" he would always expect something back even if it was the smallest little favour that you asked of him.

"No bloody way! You're crazy if you think I'm that stupid. I would need to pay it back to you eventually and I'm not trying to go into debt. Now if you would stop sticking your nose into my business, I'd like to go to sleep. I had a long day."

"You're not going back there Abella. How much clearer must I make myself for you to understand that? It's bad for you. I'll give you money..." He began to pace around the apartment ignoring her glares of annoyance and rage. "This is... Nice-"

"Get the fuck out Malfoy." She stood from the chair and grabbed him by his arm like he would do to her.

Now she was in control.

Once he got out into the hall. Eden watched him apparate away before shutting her door and placing the empty bowl of salad in the sink. She would wash it tomorrow, now the girl was too lazy to do anything other than sleep or smoke a cigarette on her tiny little fire escape.

Something was missing.

Something was wrong about his visit-

"FOR FUCKS SAKE! Ugh!"

Draco had not given her her belongings... Meaning he would be back eventually.


	35. Memory 5

January, 1998

"Happy New Year Harry." 

Eden looked over her shoulder seeing Ginny's hand on her boyfriends shoulder. His arm was around her, but it seemed as though he was giving more attention to the young Weasley than his actual girlfriend standing right beside him.

"Happy New Year Ginny... Have you seen Hermione? I must speak with her before I leave." Eden smiled and spoke before Harry could.

"Leave? I thought you were spending the night with me? Is everything alright?" Harry grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed it slightly.

"Everything's fine! I just think I should leave for the night."

Ginny stepped forward and chimed into the conversation. "You'll come back in the morning then? I would love for you to bake with Hermione and I. We have a recipe picked out, but we could definitely use a third person. What do you say?"

A tiny bit of jealousy was pricking at her and making her angry... Jealousy was an odd thing to feel and Eden was not usually the jealous type. She always thought Harry was one of the most loyal beings on this earth; Would never hurt a fly or talk to another girl, but nowadays she was doubting if anything she ever told herself was true.

"That would be so fun Ginny! I'll come back."

Harry furrowed his brows and yet again chimed in. "But why not just spend the night-"

"Hermione!" Eden exclaimed and walked away from Harry, his hand slowly sliding off of her as she did so, leaving him there alone with Ginny. "Hermione! Let's take a shot. It'll be fun! You never drink."

As Fred walked by the two, Eden snagged the two shots in his hands with a swift move.

"Ready? Go!"

"HEY! Those were my shots. For ME! Eden you literally hate lemon-"

Eden almost gagged at the flavour and pushed the shot glass back into her friends hand. "Oh that was absolutely sickening... ANOTHER!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night went on like this until 4 am, when Eden was basically hanging off of Arthur Weasley who offered to take her home after her long drunken night.

The thing with Eden was that she was not the greatest at controlling her alcohol intake and what made that even worse was that she was the biggest lightweight anyone could ever meet. One glass of wine could have got a buzz going and by three glasses she would be blacked out.

The next thing she remembered was getting into her bed after putting on a t-shirt and shorts and knocking herself right out in her warm sheets right as she watched Arthur apparate out of the room and back to the burrow.

Ringing from her alarm was what woke her up the morning after.

Hair messy.

Eyes barely even opening.

Eden's head was killed her and the nauseousness she felt was too much to bear.

Ring after ring after ring-

"Oh my fucking god..."

She swung her arm over and hit the alarm clock onto the floor where it then stopped. By the light shining through the window, Eden could safely say it was between 8:30 to 9 am in the morning and that was way too early for her.

Easily the girl could have fallen right back to sleep and slept throughout the whole day, but something was telling her not too. The feeling of lurking eyes.

The sense of unsafeness...

Just to be safe, Eden looked around the room, lifting her head off of the pillow and get a good look and after seeing that there was no one there, she laid her head back down.

For the first few minutes she attempted to fall back asleep, but the sun was shining in through her window now and her body was well rested enough to force her out of her bed and to the bathroom where she began to get ready for the day...

It was odd... She only got 5 hours of sleep last night yet she was so energized.

Her warm shower woke her up even more. She washed away all of her smudged makeup from the night before and the feeling of her skin finally breathing felt amazing. When she massaged her fingers through her hair the feeling of relief set over her from aching feeling being removed.

It only took her around 20 minutes to finish completely. Her hair fell past her shoulders almost reaching her hip since it was wet from her shower.

It was then that she remembered why she even set an alarm in her drunkness...

Baking cookies with Hermione and Ginny.

How great...

The problem was not with Hermione. It was with Ginny. Eden was stubborn, but not stubborn enough to fall for her and Harry's coverup.

Eden knew the look.

The look he gave to her when they were actually in love, not just forcing it because they were soulmates... Harry was giving that look to Ginny.

It hurt her really. Although she had not even known for sure, it still hurt to see him look at Ginny the way he used to toward her.

At first she thought it was her.

Something she did that upset him so much.

But thinking back on it, Eden could not recall a single bad moment between them that she caused.

It was always him.

Not only did he forget her birthday, but he also started to get distant from her when the news broke about Voldemort's return...

It was hard to keep a relationship with him if he never even came to visit.

Not once.

Eden walked out of the bathroom with her towel wrapped snuggly around her body so she could grab out an outfit she could wear for the day.

"Abella."

Eden gasped and jumped back suddenly, bumping into her dresser... Right at the corner too.

That was definitely going to leave a nice bruise.

"Abella this is important. I'm- I apologize for scaring you and coming at a bad time, but you must listen to me."

"What is it you want Malfoy. Whatever it is I cannot provide-"

"This has nothing to do with me, but rather your boyfriend..."

Now that caught her attention.

"He's in trouble... The Dark Lord has planned an attack on the Weasley's residence. I only know because I overheard my father. I can't let you go there. If you go you'll be caught in the mess and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Eden stood still for a moment to take in everything she just heard leave his mouth. This was all sprung upon her, she had no time to prepare for this information.

"I have to go then-"

"That's exactly what I just said you cannot do." Draco walked closer as she began to shuffle through her drawers and gather clothing. From what he could see she was just grabbing the first of everything she saw.

A army green shirt, jeans and her underwear with some socks. "Hello? Listen to me you cannot go there. The amounts of Dark Magic that will be there is too much for you to handle on your own."

"My best friends are there Malfoy. My boyfriend is there. My fucking family is there... I'm sorry, but whatever you tell me will not make me stop."

"Don't shut the- the door..." He muttered the last part to himself just as Eden shut the door on him, getting changed into the clothing she picked out. "It's dangerous. You- You could die you know?" Draco rested his head on the wall and had a hand on the shut bathroom door.

The door opened once again and she looked up at him, straight into his eyes. With a cool glare she said, "Once again. Your words have no meaning to me. Pester me all you want, but it will not change a thing."

Of course she wouldn't listen!

She's known Draco his whole life and only now he was starting to worry?

It all sounded like a bunch of bullshit to her. Not to mention, the night his mom died he tried to hurt her himself... What was with the sudden change.

As she walked past him, back into the main room of her apartment she grabbed her wand off of her counter and turned back to face him suddenly having something else to add on.

"And I find it really odd that you know the Dark Lord's business and I must let you know I think you are a fool for telling me what you know. It's hard to see who's side you're really on."

"I am on no one's side."

"Well Malfoy, if you want to survive, use your name and privilege to get to the top. As for me, my life is in the fate of whatever happens at the burrow. So in case you're the last person I ever speak to... I have a tattoo below my breast. No one knows that aside from Harry and I want to tell someone else before I die."

"Abella-" His voice was stern and serious as he took a hesitant step closer to her.

"Goodbye Malfoy."

Eden shut her eyes and quickly prepared herself for the apparation to the Weasley's house, but right at the last moment of her being in the room, Malfoy grabbed onto her wrist and as soon as they knew it, both of them had fallen flat onto the grass field.

What the hell?

Eden thought and locked eyes with him as she stood.

"I'd think you are an idiot if you thought you'd come here alone after I told you not to."

This sudden attention from him was becoming too much.

What did he care anyway?

This must have been a setup.

It had to have been. Why else would he have grabbed onto her if not to kill her himself, then kill everyone else.

The boy was capable of it too. Taking on a bunch of wizards and witches that just finished school would have been no problem for him.

A sudden bang cut Eden's confused thoughts short and she was now looking at the tall house fall completely to the floor with hot fire blazing off of it. Both Eden and Draco could feel the heat radiating off of it.

Was she too late?

Did they already die?

"CRUCIO!" A man from the left side of Eden shouted loudly and a red spark came flying out of his wand, hurdling toward her.

With it being so sudden the only thing she could do was dodge it, falling to the ground.

The spell bounced off of the grass in front of her and off into the sky where it died down shortly after.

He had a mask on. She'd seen it before. It was the mask of a Death Eater.

Shiny and metal with all of it covering the entirety of the users face. Along with the Death Eater attire came a black cloak. That hid the hair and rest of the body unless it was open, which in this case it was or else the man would not have been able to cast any spells. The fabric would be covering him.

Looking to the side, Eden saw that Draco was no where to be seen. Not beside her, not in the grass, not even near the fiery wreck of a house on the ground.

He left her all alone.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Again the spell bounced off and died out in the air.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" Eden shouted and cast her wand confidently in the direction of the Death Eater.

He fell right to the floor and although she couldn't see it, Eden knew he was beginning to bleed out from the new wounds on his body.

Slowly, she walked over to his body and bent down beside him.

"Bet you didn't see that one coming..."

With a smirk on her face she picked up the man's wand from the grass beside his hand and snapped the piece of wood into two, dropping it right onto his chest and backing away watching as he haemorrhaged.

Sectumsempra would come in handy for future encounters like this one because no one knew what it was or what it did, aside from Harry, Eden and... Draco Malfoy.

The smirk disappeared as realization began to kick in...

"Oh god..."

What did I do.

I've killed someone.

"Abella let's go!" Malfoy called from behind her without even paying regard to the dead Death Eater on the floor. "We have to leave."

"What about Harry-"

"He's safe... For christ's sake- Let's go!"

Matters were taken into his own hands. Draco walked over to Eden and grabbed her arm apparating her out and away from the body of the person she killed... The person she felt guilty about killing.

"Eden! What the hell were you thinking coming after me!" Harry rushed over to her when she entered her apartment again.

Her apartment?

Was he really at her apartment?

"Did you get hurt. Did anything happen to you?" Harry grabbed her face and wiped off the blood which splattered off of the man to her face. "How did you even know!"

"Malfoy told me..." She pushed Harry off of her from the shock she was still feeling and both Harry and her connected eyes with Draco who stood leaning against the island in her kitchen listening in on the conversation.

"Were you trying to get her killed?!" Harry charged at him with his wand in hand ready to hurt him, but all the boy did in response was rip it out of his hand and throw it to the ground. He could have broken it, but that would not have done any good. Harry still needed it after all. "I swear Malfoy! You better not speak to her again-"

"Has your lovely girlfriend told you what she really does to keep this nice apartment of hers? Have you been here for her in the three months that she has been living here? I have. It appears that I am a better person to her than her own soulmate has ever been-"

"Draco! Enough! Both of you! Arguing like a bunch of children! Is everyone else safe?"

"Yes." Both boys answered at the same time giving evil stares to one another.

"Good. That's all that really matters is it not? Harry... Harry I need you to step out for a moment."

His eyes widened as he looked at her confused. "Step out?! And leave you in here alone with him? You're crazy-"

"Harry! Step. Out." The girl's tone was serious and stern and he knew better than to stay and argue with her right now.

Harry stared at her some a moment longer before stepping outside of the apartment and shutting the door behind himself.

"Muffliato" Eden walked up to Draco and stood in front of him bravely. "You... You tell me this scary information, expect me not to go and save the only family I have and then when I actually needed your help you left! I killed someone Malfoy! I'm so going to fucking hell now..." Her hands ran through her hair and she began pacing back and forth in all her nervousness.

"I couldn't be there. They would have seen me and know I'm telling you information."

"Why would they even care Malfoy?" She snapped back at him and looked in his direction.

"It's none of your business Abella. As for you killing someone, people die everyday. A person who was trying to kill YOU to begin with would be better off dead anyway. Had you not killed him it would be you laying on that field beside the rubble of that house." Draco stepped forward filling up with rage and annoyance at the girls ignorance.

Eden chuckled slightly and looked up at the ceiling. "And if I were to have died. What would you do to help because it appears to me you have nothing better to do than come into my apartment and bother me about a job that I not only NEED to survive, but have no way of leaving. Then you think you're entitled to spring the news upon Harry?! He will hate me forever if he knew about what I did-"

"Well then you shouldn't do it if that is the case."

It was hard not to be annoyed with him when he stood there so calm and collected while Eden was across the room filling up with anger.

Her teeth gritted and she clenched her jaw before releasing it and balling her hands into fists.

"I don't have a bloody choice!" She exclaimed so loudly. If she did not put the muffling spell around them everyone in the building could have heard. The girl was so angry that she did not recognize the loudness of her voice.

Draco's eyes scanned her quickly before they connected with her's once again. "Are you done?"

"You're so... You're so-"

"Spit it out. I would like to hear what you have to say about me Abella... Go on."

"You're so inconsiderate and- And selfish!" There were so many things Eden was holding back from saying. "I could go on for hours."

"Well I would like to hear it some day. Though I'm glad today is not the day, I have somewhere to be-"

"Where could you possibly have to be Malfoy?"

"Astoria needs me. She's been stressed."

How hysterical!

Eden almost started snorting right in front of him.

Astoria needed him?

Oh please.

"What? Does she not have any of the old men she sleeps with anymo-"

Halfway through her sentence Draco walked in front of her and wrapped his hand around her throat which made her stop immediately, her breath hitching.

He was not holding it in a way that could actually hurt her, just in a way to get her to shut up and know her behaviour was unacceptable.

With her in his grasp; Being so close he could finally get a good look at her face... She had faint freckles, the kind you could only see if you were up close and her eyes, they were lighter up close. They always looked so dark from far, like a chocolate brown.

"Where has all the confidence gone Abella?"

She didn't answer him. Instead of doing that she stared back at him and got hold of his wrist from the hand around her throat. With a sudden yank she was free from the hold and pushed on his chest lightly to make room for her path to the door.

"I think your time here is over Malfoy." The door was pulled open and as it was, Harry almost fell in from listening at the door even though he could not hear a thing from the moment Eden cast the spell around them.

For a brief moment Draco looked around the room and than out the window at the streets which were covered in snow. Then, he made his way to the door putting a small smile on his face as he did so. "If I were you Abella, I would put some anti-apparation enchantments on the place. Without them it makes it easy for people to apparate... Just the way I did this morning."

His eyes met Harry's when he said the last part, who was returning the glare with a protective grasp on Eden's waist.

Malfoy apparated right away which now meant that Eden and Harry were alone and the two had a lot to talk about...


	36. Memory 6

January, 1998

"Draco said something about your job... What did he mean? Where do you work Eden... You can tell me I won't be mad. I'll support you-"

"You're a bloody liar Harry because after I tell you, you will have lost all your respect for me. You'll hate me forever. You'll think I am some kind of whore. You'll never want to touch me again-"

Harry grabbed her hand and sat next to her on the edge of her bed. "I promise you. I will not think any of those things..." The boy paused for a moment and lowered his head. "Are you a prostitute?"

"God no!" She exclaimed and yanked her hand from his grasp.

Had he really thought she would go so low?

Let people have sex with her in order to keep this apartment. Sure she wanted to stay here, but she was never, ever willing to go that far to keep this place.

"I'm a stripper... Hermione was really the one who talked me into it. She made a good point. It was either homelessness or being a stripper and I am already a dancer, so doing it on a pole for a bunch of men didn't seem to be an issue. And once I got over the fact that I was basically naked, it wasn't so bad."

So much was sprung onto him.

His girlfriend was a stripper.

An underage girl was a stripper.

Did they not look at ID's these days?

Eden had one, she was a muggle before she was a witch.

"So this is Hermione's doing? I'll need to speak with her-"

"NO! Harry please do not do that. Do not say anything to anyone. See! This is why I didn't want to tell you in the first place." Eden sighed as if she were on the verge of tears and laid back on the surface of her bed.

Stress was the only thing she could feel at that moment and it was all Draco's fault.

"How come Draco knew and I didn't?" Harry asked.

Even after everything she's told him his only thoughts were about Malfoy and what he had to do with this. Harry has taken jealousy to a whole new level, when she was not even the one cheating here.

"He just showed up. Before he left me at the burrow the night of... You know the night Narcissa died, he told me he would find me to return my things. I didn't know he would be finding exactly where I was so one night, he showed up and took me home after my shift."

Eden figured it would be better not to tell Harry about the man who was harassing her the night Draco found out. If he'd known she knew what he would do.

Probably drag her over there right now and make her quit on the spot.

"So he's seen you basically naked?"

"Is that even the bloody point Harry?!" She snapped.

Quickly, she stood from the bed and rubbed her head stressfully.

"I'm sorry... I know you're just concerned. Do you need a place to stay? I would assume so after the burrow burnt down. You can stay here. It'll be nice to have someone else around here anyway. So lonely all of the time."

After Harry agreed the two of them got settled in.

There was nothing left to do aside from get comfortable and live the rest of the day as if there was not a severe attack on the burrow that morning all because of Harry.

For half the day both Eden and Harry tried to put together an anti-apparation enchantment, but neither of them knew what they were doing and the lack of books and help was making it worse so for the night they would leave it, maybe get Hermione to come and help them out.

They were sure she would know how to do it.

When the darkness filled the sky they thought it was about time for dinner, Eden cooked some pasta and a salad, but refused to eat more than two bites from how stressed out she was.

It was hard not to think about the fact one of the most powerful people at the moment wanted her boyfriend dead and after he was gone, she would be next, then Hermione, Ron, everyone that was close with Harry or part of the 'rebellion'.

That is what it would be called once it was formed.

Harry talked about it during dinner. Since they had so much time on their hands, he explained everything he did while avoiding her. "Professor Lupin came to me one night, Tonks was there as well. He asked if I would be interested in something like that and of course I told him yes. It would be pretty shitty of me if I did not try to fight back in a battle that is clearly because of me."

Later on in the night Eden took another shower, getting all the dirt and the disgusting feeling she had off of her. The hot water hitting her skin helped her relax a little bit, it was like it was washing away all the thoughts from her brain leaving her empty headed and in peace for the time being.

Not even 5 minutes into the shower she heard the shower curtain open and close again with her back still facing Harry, whom she knew was the person in there with her.

It was not as if she was surprised. She purposely left the door open for him.

Some sex would help relieve her of her horrible thoughts and feelings...

The anxiety she felt being in her own home without any enchantments.

Now that Harry was here there was not anything to really be afraid of, but so much at the same time.

When she turned around Harry connected their lips, gripping her hips and pulling her closer.

Even though she knew something was off with him or rather with their relationship, his presence was still so comforting and his touch made her feel so safe. Being around him really brought out the best in her.

Her legs were wrapped around his waist and as he thrusted into her she moaned quietly into his ear and let her head rest on his shoulder.

His grip around her tightened and he began to pick up his pace, holding her closer to him.

Being engulfed like this made her feel protected. Harry would never let anything bad happen to her.

Not in a million years.

Even if he was starting to lose interest.

Eden still meant the world to him, though that was how it was supposed to be. Soulmates would always have some kind of connection, even if there was no chemistry between them at all.

In Harry and Eden's case, they did like each other, so they were already one step ahead of everyone else.

"Oh fuck H-Harry." Her nails dug into his back as he hissed slightly and pulled his lips away from her shoulder.

"Stop that Eden, you'll leave a mark-"

It was funny he said that seeing as there were two hickeys on her neck and one on her shoulder. Receiving hickeys from Harry was never an issue. She knew that he enjoyed giving them to her and seeing them on her neck every time a boy tried to look her way.

"Like you haven't already?" She smiled and connected their lips again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at Malfoy Manor, there was a lot of commotion coming from Draco's bedroom. Thankfully his father was out. If he was not that would have been a huge problem.

"Merlin- Draco!" Astoria moaned as he pulled her by her hair.

Draco had the girl taking it while bent over the end of his bed. He knew there were plenty of other guys who saw her like that and he didn't want to see her face while he fucked her.

"Shhh." He shushed her and let go of her hair, moving his hand to her back where he pushed her down so that her back was arched.

This is wrong. You have to break it off with her. It's gone too far Draco. You can't keep living like this-

"I can't." Draco pulled out and stepped away from her. "I can't do this after thinking of every other man who has touched you Astoria. It's disgusting."

"So you're calling me a whore?" She whipped her head around and pulled her skirt back up while Draco faced away from her, pulling out a pair of black sweatpants from his drawer and slipping them on.

"That is not at all what I said." He handed her the shirt she threw onto the floor in the heat of the moment when they arrived here. "I said I find it disgusting for ME. You can do whatever you want with whoever you want, but I will not continue to be a little pawn in your game Astoria. You only ever call me when you need eye candy or a quick fuck and I'm sorry, but I can't keep providing you those things. If that really is all you want me for you can walk right out that door and not come back because it is quite exhausting trying to keep up to your agenda." Draco walked over to the door and opened it, pointing his hand in the direction of the hallway and looking directly into her eyes.

The girl stood still, looking him directly in his eyes. "That's not all I want you for-"

"It is Astoria. I'm not an idiot. I have two eyes and two ears. You're not even interested in me anymore. What is the point in us staying together when it is someone else giving you the pleasure you want and deserve."

Draco didn't want to hate her and he was trying hard not to, but it was so difficult when she has not even been present in their relationship for the past 5 months now.

She walked closer to him, now standing right in front of him. "I'm not going to sit and lie to you then. It's much easier to tell the truth. I am not interested in you the way I was when we first found out we were supposed to be together and don't get me wrong Draco, I'm glad that I did get the opportunity to meet you because without you I would not be able to see any colour, but I'm just... I fell out of the trance. And I know you have too even if you are not sleeping with her. I know you go out every morning to watch whoever she is... Hell, you practically spend the night with her."

At least she was honest...

"I-"

It was not that he liked the girl whom he made time for in his busy schedule.

He was just concerned about her.

He wanted to make sure she was safe.

It was an odd feeling because although Draco did not feel any romance toward her, he still felt some sort of responsibility to keep her safe. It started from when they were younger.

Year 4 for him to be exact.

It started off as a big brother kind of protection, punching anyone who felt they were entitled to talk about her behind her back, but as years went on he realized this feeling was more than just a big brother kind of protection, he realized it went deeper. But she was taken. She had someone who loved her, so instead of actually trying, he pushed all those thoughts away by being mean to her and distancing himself.

That worked for a little bit, but it was becoming apparent that the feeling was still lingering and now it was about to break the surface and take over him just like it did when he was 14...

"Who is she Draco."

Eden Abella...

"I don't do it because I like her. I do it because she puts herself is stupid situations and I don't want her to get herself hurt. I feel I need to protect her, but it's not what you think... And you and Kaden... All those men. How long have you been doing that?" Draco turned the topic of conversation back onto her.

"3 months."

"Wow... 3 months. You should have just told me. I would not have been mad."

"You seem mad now." Astoria looked at his furrowed brows.

Draco was definitely angry.

Who wouldn't be after you find out you've been cheated on for 3 months. The worst part was that he knew... 

Everyone knew. 

It just hurt more when she admitted it.

"Well of course I'm frustrated Astoria. You just admitted to me that you've been cheating on me for months. Everyone knew too. It's more embarrassing for me than anything." Draco ran a hand through his hair, unable to make anymore eye contact with the girl in front of him.

"What was I supposed to do? Walk in here and tell you I don't love you? I do love you-"

"Obviously not..." He shook his head and looked over her head at the wall. "I need some time Astoria. I need time to think about all of this."

Her hand slid into his and she gripped it tightly. "I'm sorry Draco. I really am."

She was not.

She was lying.

She didn't care.

She never cared.

Why was she still trying with him? It was exhausting. Always living under a constant lie. Draco wondered how she did it so flawlessly all of the time.

When she walked out the door she apparated away, leaving Draco standing in his doorframe questioning how he even let their relationship get to the point it was at now. He should have done this sooner. The weight on his chest felt like it had been somewhat lifted now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Eden held on tighter to Harry the sudden sound of someone's voice made them both halt and whip their head toward the shower curtain.

"Eden? Are you in there?"

Her eyes widened and she looked at Harry who immediately put her down and gave her 'what the hell do we do' eyes.

"Umm... Yeah I am... Is that you Hermione?"

"Yeah. It's just me. I was actually wondering if I could stay the night. I just thought since Harry is staying it would be good for us to stick together."

Eden poked her head out form behind the curtain and smiled brightly at the girl who was standing in eye's view through the doorframe and in the living. room. "That's fine Hermione. You can stay if you'd like, but I don't have much food in my fridge right now. For breakfast we'll probably have to eat out or something." Her hand reached over and grabbed her towel before shutting off the water and pointing a finger toward Harry and whispering. "You stay here Harry. Don't come out yet-"

"Hey, where is Harry anyway?"

"Oh! He went for a..." Shutting the curtain over her face and wrapping her towel around her body, she looked toward him as if he could provide an answer, but still came up with something on her own. "A walk. He went on a walk around the block. I think he really needed some alone time after this morning."

"Yeah I bet. You sound kind of jumpy. Are you alright-"

Eden hopped out of the bathroom with her towel around her, smiling brightly at Hermione.

If she was anymore obvious her friend was going to know. Eden was a horrible liar when it came to things like this.

"I'm perfectly fine. You just caught me at a bad time, but don't worry. Let me just get myself dressed and-"

CRACK!

Fred smiled and flopped down onto her newly made bed. "Ah hello Eden. I've heard news we're having a sleepover at your place?"

Hermione smiled awkwardly. "Sorry..."

"Only you two. That's it-"

"Can you make it four?" George held his sister by her shoulder.

Ginny smiled. She was acting all innocent for what.

Eden already knew the truth.

She had a gut feeling and her gut feelings were rarely ever wrong.

"Fine! If anyone else wants to stay they're allowed. Let me get dressed though..."

After Eden shut the door of her bathroom, she handed Harry a sweater of his and the jeans that were on he floor and told him to apparate outside and enter through the front door acting like nothing ever happened in the bathroom and after Harry was out, Eden got ready for the night. She left her hair down and put on a t-shirt and shorts. It was what she usually wore to sleep.

Later on that night, when everyone was asleep either on her bed, or her couch or the floor with a little air mattress she found in the closet, Eden opened her window and sat down on the fire escape.

She was craving the feeling of a smoke.

It had been a while since she did so and she felt like she deserved it after the day she had. Killed someone, hosting a little gathering as if her apartment was a suite at the Savoy or something high end like that.

Before she could even light it another interruption was made and as she huffed Draco realized he came at a bad time.

Well, bad time for her, good time for him.

"I thought you were working tonight?" He sat down beside her and grabbed the cigarette out from her fingers, chucking it 3 stories down to the cold, wet floor. "God you must be freezing. Take this Ede-"

Her eyebrows furrowed and both of their reactions were the same.

Surprised.

"Take it."

As if she was going to just brush that off.

For once in her whole life he heard her say her name.

Her REAL name, not her last name.

It was said without hesitation too...

"Have you been talking about me?" Eden wrapped the coat around her, pulling her knee's to her chest. She was so tired that she did not care about holding the grudge she had with him from that morning.

Yes.

"Of course I was not. Who do you think would be interested in knowing more about you?" He asked.

"The Dark Lord..." His eyes met her's as the words left her mouth. "You can tell me you're on his side. I won't tell anyone. I see what's on your arm. You come over to my place almost every night and I'm not an idiot. I see you."

Oh gosh.

He was caught...

Though it did not appear she even cared about him doing this? How strange.

"You're so relaxed about it. Why?"

"Why? Because after analyzing you for at least 1 second I can tell you wouldn't hurt a hair on my body and you know why?"

"Why Abella. I would like to hear this theory of yours." The smirk he had on when his confidence was beginning to show through was plastered onto his face as he waited to hear what she had to say.

How could he always be so confident, so strong... So intimidating? Did he even realize he was all those things? Probably not.

"Because you're possessive over things you cannot have. I am a thing you can't have. All your life you go for things you can't have. I'm just one of those things, but correct me if I'm wrong Malfo-"

He stopped her and began to speak for himself. "That is not at all the reason. I come here every night because you always find yourself in a predicament that if I don't show up you'll get yourself hurt, but correct me if I'm wrong Abella."

Smooth ass guy right here.

Eden thought and tried to fight back the smile that was threatening to pull at the sides of her mouth.

"You can smile you know. I'm not a bloody monster." He looked down at his hands and grasped them together to try and keep them warm. "You can keep the jacket."

"Wait where are you going? You've only just got here-"

"Do you want me to stay Abella? It seems you have enough people here as it is. Adding one more would not be good for you."

"How do you mind read? How does it work I mean."

"Another time..."

"But-"

"Another. Time. Though I'm quite surprised you even want me around to begin with. Just this morning you were telling me how much you hate me."

Gosh...

He was never going to get over the hatred was he?


	37. Memory 7

January, 1998

The hours were beginning to feel like days and the days were beginning to feel like weeks. Because of Eden's missing work, she was fired. She had no way of paying off any bills and the more she would ignore it, the more it ate her from the inside out.

Having the constant feelings of nausea and stress was horrible. It made her not want to eat and when she did, she needed to lay down to digest her food properly. If she didn't do it that way she was sure she was going to throw up.

After a week and a little bit, Fred came back so spend the day with her.

No one came to visit her after the little sleepover she hosted. Not even Draco... But she knew he was probably just lurking right outside her window when she slept like the little psychopath he was.

"How is everyone doing? I haven't spoken to anyone since the attack... Or everyone has just been avoiding me-"

"It's not that Eden. No one is ignoring you. They're just busy. Professor- I mean Remus... He's been coming to the new safe house every day with updates. He says things are not looking good, but I have never stuck around long enough to find out what was so bad. Don't need that on my conscious... Say, you should really get some anti-apparation enchantments on this place."

"God you're beginning to sound like Malfoy. I've tried. I don't know how. Even Hermione tried. She doesn't know how, but if you would like to try be my guest. Maybe you'll be the lucky wizard." Eden placed a bowl of pasta in front of him and sat beside him at the small counter.

As he scooped some of it up onto a fork, he abruptly stopped and looked toward her. "Aren't you going to eat? You're looking a bit pale."

"Oh no. I'm not that hungry, but even if I was it's not like I have anything left over for me... I lost my job. Don't tell Harry. Or Hermione..." Telling him was a mistake and she regretted it right after it left her mouth. "Or anyone- You know what, whatever I know you'll do it anyway."

"I'm sure Malfoy would be happy. Didn't you tell me he dragged you out of there when you first started-"

"Fred. Not the time. Never the time actually. You know it is so odd. Right after his mother died he started coming around; talking to me. He's becoming quite obsessed. The night you all slept here he met me outside. Told me he comes here often... Used to watch me come home from work."

Why was she speaking to Fred about this. He was the least serious person she knew. If she were to be crying he still wouldn't care. The most he would do in a situation like that is put his arm around her and laugh, though he was a nervous laugher.

"Perhaps he fancies you Eden. You never know-"

"He has Astoria Greengrass. That is not possible. Plus I think I have made it abundantly clear that I do not enjoy his company."

Fred rose a brow and took one more bite before opening his mouth to speak again. "Haven't you heard Eden. Him and her are..." Dragging his finger across his neck, Eden got what he was trying to say and her eyes widened.

"They're done?!"

How strange.

How did Eden not already know this.

She was the queen of gossip.

Everyone told her everything.

She never spread anything though. That would be horribly rude.

"Yup. Done. I know because not only was it in the Daily Prophet, but I saw Astoria Greengrass snogging an old man in an alley. Quite a disgusting sight if you ask me though. She's only your age and you're just a baby-"

"I am not a baby Fred. You are only 3 years older than me..." The realization was kicking in now and when it actually hit her, Eden stood from the chair she was sat on and stepped back dramatically. "Is that why I have not been contacted? Because you all think I'm a child and I can't handle a fight?"

The silence was so loud and spoke volumes to the upset girl.

Fred should have said something.

Anything to make her stop her rampage.

"I am not a child! I am capable of things some of those bloody wizards are not. Oh and let me guess Ginny is there helping even though she is MY age. This is a bunch of bullshit. I want to help! I've killed someone before-"

"You've WHAT?!" Fred almost spit out his food when he heard her say that. "When Eden?! Oh my gosh you poor angel."

Pointing her finger in disbelief, she gasped at her friend and began her rant. "SEE! You're treating me like a toddler! If that's how everyone see's me then I guess they don't deserve my help anyway and they can lose the bloody war and then you'll all be crying while I'm here living a normal life like a BLOODY MUGGLE!"

Before she could even finish Fred smiled and apparated out of her room, bowl of pasta still in his hand as he did so... What a shame. That was her favourite bowl too.

"Bloody idiot..." She shook her head and kicked her chair closer to the ledge of the table.

A tinge of hurt was running through her body very slowly, making sure she could feel as self-conscious as possible.

Is that really what people thought of her?

That she was just some useless 17 year old?

Now she was beginning to ask herself why they thought this of her and if she said something that made them think this.

It made sense if they wanted to protect her, but cutting her off completely was just cruel. This was her fight too, just as much as everyone else. Her parents were killed by Voldemort's orders too. Why could she not get justice for that?

"I met with Harry... I told him to leave you out of this."

Eden turned her head and saw Draco walking closer from the middle of the room. She was so deep in her thought that she did not catch the crack of him apparating in.

"Why? Why would you do that?!" With all of her built up anger, Eden balled her hand into a fist and swung it at Draco, not actually intending on hitting him, but if it did she wouldn't be too upset about that.

Thankfully, Draco had fast reflexes and grabbed her wrist tightly, stopping her from hurting anyone.

"Because you're more of a target to the Dark Lord than Harry himself and I am not letting that man get his hands on you. Now if you'd relax I can explain why. I don't want you punching me mid explanation."

Her wrist was now free from his grasp.

"I am relaxed..."

"Yeah alright..."

When he took a seat on the couch, Eden followed and sat beside him, but at a comfortable distance.

"Voldemort is connected to Harry is every way, mind, emotions, and I just found out he can see things Harry does at certain times. Well because of all that he now thinks that since you're Harry's soulmate, you must be his as well." Draco explained, uncomfortably shifting in his spot.

His eyes trailed over her as she began to panic.

Did that mean... Did that mean he could have seen when her and Harry were... When they were having sex in the shower? At the burrow? In that bathroom at The Three Broomsticks?!

Just breathe Eden.

That is just not true.

He's lying to you Eden. Voldemort wants nothing to do with you.

"Abella-"

Breathe Eden! Breathe!

"Eden stop!"

Her eyes became less blurry and dark, and her feelings of anxiety were beginning to move to the back of her mind. Still, she took in large breaths, exhaling quickly.

"This is exactly why I told them you were not allowed to go and fight. You're safer here. Trust me Abella."

And back to Abella... It was good for the few seconds that it lasted.

"I-I don't know how to do enchantments. Harry and I tried, Hermione too, but we could not figure it out."

Draco extended his hand and in it was a glass of water. Something he just conjured up out of thin air... Maybe he was more powerful than she thought he was. All these years and she never really payed attention to how good of a wizard the boy was.

Of course, she accepted the drink. Anything to make her stop panicking in front of him. It was a sign of weakness.

"It is not a sign of weakness. You're scared and I'm not here to judge you. I am not the enemy. I never was. As for the enchantments, I'll do them. Just open a window and get some fresh air or something."

No offence, but he is the worst at giving advice...

Eden said it in her head as if she knew he would hear her. The no offence was added at the beginning just for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After around two hours Draco finally finished the enchantments. Eden knew he put more than one on her apartment, but whenever she asked he would snap at her and tell her she had nothing to worry about.

So obvious... He acted as if the extra hour it took him didn't point it out at all.

Draco left shortly after he finished leaving Eden all on her own again.

The sun completely set by that time, but it was only around 7 pm or it appeared to be when she looked at her clock.

For the time being she would stay alone in her apartment, but it wouldn't stay that way for much longer.

Fred was so stupid sometimes... In their little chat, he let it slip that there was a safe house and Eden was 99% sure she knew where it was located.

12 Grimmauld Place.

Harry always thought she wasn't listening when she was "asleep", but she was a great observer. That's how she knew so much. She always listened in when she was not supposed to.

The night Harry stayed over, he spoke in his sleep and after he said Professor Lupin's name, Eden knew whatever he was going on about would prove to be important in the future.

And she was right.

Quickly Eden grabbed the first jacket she could find and walked out the door. Next, she shut her eyes, gulping down one last time before she clenched her fists and appeared outside of the house, crammed between two other houses.

It wasn't as hard to get here as she thought. Maybe it was because she had been here a lot during her 4th year of school. So much happened in that one year.

The hedges were just cut and there were leaves all on the pathway leading to the steps which would then lead her to the old brown door. That door could have been centuries old from how beat up it looked.

The moment she pulled it open the loud house fell silent and Hermione was the first to realize who was at the door.

"Eden? What are you doing here? You should be at home."

"Give me a break Hermione. I need to speak with Harry. It's important. Where can I find him? He's here is he not?" There was so much attitude in her voice, but it was well deserved. The least her best friend could have done was give her a heads up, tell her they were going to be away for a while.

"He's upstairs in his room. He's quite tired though I think. Maybe now isn't a good time-"

"Thanks for your help."

Eden walked past Hermione, ignoring her as she trailed off and watched her walk up the rest of the stairs until she was out of view completely.

"Oh Harry!"

What the fuck was that?

"Harry!"

"Oh HELL no!"

Pulling the door open, she looked in horror at Harry. All of her worst nightmares were coming true. This had to have been some kind of joke or a dream.

"EDEN?!"

"What the actual FUCK HARRY?!"

Footsteps rushing up the stairs could be heard, but Eden was too caught up in her emotions to even care.

"I FUCKING KNEW IT!"

"Eden..! Eden let me explain."

Hermione peeped her head in but quickly slapped her hands over her eyes and put her back flat against the wall of the hallway.

"You know you two really fucking deserve each other."

Harry began to panic and got up from his bed running after his girlfriend while pulling some sweatpants on, leaving Ginny there with only a sheet to cover her body.

"EDEN!"

"NO FUCK YOU!"

"STOP IT!" Harry pulled her back to hard she bumped into him and almost stumbled over from the impact with his chest. "You're not listening to me-"

"THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN SAY HARRY! You're a fucking piece of shit. Have I done something to make you hate me all of a sudden?"

"Hate you? Eden I don't hate you-"

All of a sudden her hand whipped across his face.

On impact the loud crack of a slap was heard and her hand began to throb from how hard she actually hit him. It wasn't intended for it to be that hard, but since it was maybe it would teach him a lesson or two. "FUCK YOU! I hope you're content with the path you chose to walk because you just fucking lost me."

"Wait wait-"

"NO!"

She had tears streaming from her eyes, but somehow she pulled herself together to speak to him clearly between her gasps for air between her cries.

"I've done enough waiting Harry. I hope you know you did this to yourself and that-" She yanked her wrist away from the boy she thought she knew. The boy she thought was her soulmate. "...that you're going to suffer the consequences. If you want to be a whore that's fine, be a whore, but the least you could have done was give me a heads up, fucking break up with me if you didn't want this anymore..."

It was time to get the fuck out of there. Too much feelings were coursing through her body and if she let it get too bad she wouldn't be able to apparate which would be the worst possible thing to happen to her right now.

Eden didn't want to hear anymore of his lousy excuses. His little fake apologies. Actually scrap that, he didn't even apologize once yet. He was just trying to make excuses for something that could not ever be excused.

Now that she was free from his grasp she was able to apparate without him coming along, but when she appeared where she did, she just began sobbing, letting her tears stream down her face despite the snow falling down which was making her cheeks freeze up.

There she found herself laying beside her mother's grave. Curled up in a ball using the large jacket like a blanket and the hood as a very thin pillow, which separated her from the snow on the ground.

Now she was definitely to weak and emotional to apparate successfully back to her flag.

When she shut her eyes she fell right to sleep.

It was probably all the apparating and her cries that made her so tired, but once she was out, she was out. Not even the freezing snow falling on her could have woken her up.

Something she thought about before her mind shut down for the night was why, of all places, she came here. Her apartment would have been just as nice. At least there she had a bed. Maybe even her parents house. Adoptive one's of course.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time the sun was shining on her she finally composed herself enough to open her eyes and look at the stone of the grave.

In loving memory of Florence Abella.

1955-1988

Always in our thoughts, forever in our hearts.

That was what was read on the old gravestone. It seemed like the last time it had been cleaned was when it was put there. You could barely even make out the words. Though it appeared that there was no one around here anymore. The cemetery was in an isolated place to begin with.

While Eden raised her wand to clean off the dirt from the headstone, Hermione was busy trying to find where her friend could be.

All night she went searching. To her apartment, to the remains of the burrow, even her parents house, which she was now regretting because she probably caused them so much stress knowing that their daughter could be a missing girl. Well, she was a missing girl.

Halfway through the night Harry joined her and despite the constant lecturing of Hermione, he still stayed. It was becoming worrisome not knowing where she was and thinking about all of the possibilities of what could have happened to her.

When the sun was beginning to shine through the clouds, Hermione knew where she needed to go in order to find answers. There was only one other person the girl could think of that would know where she was and if he could find her at her job, she was sure he could find where she ran off to after she got her heart broken.

So there Hermione and Harry found themselves, standing near a back window of Malfoy Manor waiting to see is Lucius was home or not.

They did so by breaking a window— which they would fix right after— and since no one came they assumed he was not home and Draco just didn't care.

"Hermione," Harry crawled through the window after his friend, shutting it closed immediately after. It was freezing outside. "What if Malfoy is no help to us. This will all be a waste of time. We can still try and find her on our own. We don't need him to find her-"

"If we don't get help from Malfoy she will not be found. We'll need to wait for her to find her way back home if she's even still safe. You know, this is all your bloody fault Harry. Eden could be dead because of you-"

Suddenly, the deep voice belonging to none other than Draco Malfoy cut Hermione off mid sentence.

"What have you just said Granger?"

"Eden could be dead. Something happened to her last night and she ran off... Look I know you don't like us, but you're our last hope. You've found her once, can't you find her again? Or maybe just tell us how you did it?" Hermione explained and began to fidget with her fingers.

Draco looked down at her nervous fidgets and shook his head slightly in annoyance. "I'll find her, but what happened? Why did she run off like this."

Both Harry and Hermione looked at one another, Harry in fear and Hermione in a way that was asking permission to tell him.

"Harry cheated on her..."

"I didn't-"

"I'm sorry Harry, but you did." Hermione couldn't lie for him. What he did was inexcusable and he was going to pay the consequences whether he liked it or not. Denying the truth could only get him so far until he realized that a false truth is no better than the actual truth.

Draco shut his eyes, blocking out the bickering of Hermione and Harry.

Locating her would be no problem, it was just the matter of if Draco should help them or not.

Perhaps he would leave on his own and get her himself since obviously, Harry had mistreated her and Hermione let her get away.

"I'm not helping you for your sake, I'm doing it for mine. I want to know she's safe." Draco opened his eyes and looked at Hermione and Hermione only.

He would deal with Harry when he absolutely needed to. "She's at her mom's grave. She slept there, on the ground in the freezing cold..."


	38. Memory 8

January, 1998

Hermione's eyes widened and she looked toward Harry once again. "Take us to her? Please..."

"Only Granger."

"What?! She's my girlfriend-"

"Well I'm not an expert on feelings, but if I were you I would back off. She's obviously upset with you, you were the reason she did this in the first place. If she see's you there when we go get her she'll run off again."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows.

How did Draco Malfoy know her so well.

It sounded like he had all of her traits down in his head like he was her friend or something. Though he shouldn't have been that surprised. Eden and Draco have spent numerous Christmas' and holidays together since Narcissa took Eden under her wing. 

"Fine... Whatever just go and get her." Harry mumbled.

"Harry go back to the house. I'll meet you there when I know she's safe in her apartment... I'm serious Harry, don't go to her apartment, you'll make her feel worse-"

"God I get it Hermione!" Harry walked over to the window and pushed it open, jumping back out and apparating away the moment his feet stomped back down onto the snow on the ground.

It was now just Hermione and Draco.

How odd.

Hermione never thought she could be in the same room as him without wrapping her hands around his throat and at least trying to kill him, same went for Draco.

"...Grab my arm.". Hesitantly, he stretched his arm out for Hermione to grab and once she did he led them straight to a random part of the graveyard. "For fucks sake-"

"This place is huge. We're not going to find her." Hermione shut her eyes, trying to think of anything she could do.

From where they stood, the cemetery looked like it went on for miles and miles, up and over hills. That was probably due to the fact that this was not a muggle cemetery. This place had been around since the beginning of time.

Wizards were buried here.

"Malfoy. Is there anything else you can do to find her? Anything more precise?"

"Well Granger, I'm a wizard, not a god."

So much hostility and for what. They were both there looking for the same person.

Why was he in such a bad mood?

Hermione turned her head away from the boy and looked over the hills again. "We're splitting up. I'll go down there, you go backward toward the front. One of us will eventually run into her and I would much rather do that alone than with you-"

"That feeling is mutual."

No time was wasted after the words left Draco's mouth. He turned on his heel and began walking down the gravel path which led back to the front making sure to walk slowly and comb through every aisle. Eden could have been laying down on the floor at any one of them.

Calling out for her would be too loud and had there been anyone else here to visit family or friends, it would be completely disrespectful to them.

This was a graveyard after all, not a jungle gym.

Down one of the rows, he saw something, something black like a blanket or a jacket on the ground. Even if she wasn't there with it, she would be close and he would get an idea of where she could have gone.

It was freezing outside though, if she didn't have a jacket she would get sick and the last thing Draco wanted was that. Her friends treated her so poorly that she would need to take care of herself.

Or he would go to take care of her...

One of the two.

When he reached the jacket he immediately recognized it as his. The one he gave her the day they spoke outside.

Perhaps that's what got her through the night. The jacket was a gift from an old friend and although Draco could not identify what charm was cast on it, the jacket felt like a heater.

It was great, he used it all of the time, until he gave it to her.

Eden must be freezing without it. How could she just leave it here?

Draco looked around after picking it up and dusting the snow off of the outside of it.

The girl could have been anywhere... This place was in fact huge like Hermione said when they arrived.

His eyes trailed down to the headstone of the grave.

"In loving memory of Florence Abella."

This must have been her mothers grave. It only made sense after reading the dates on it.

Draco never knew her mother that well. They probably said hi maybe once when he was still a little boy.

He knew his mother and her were good friends though. That's why Eden was in his life to begin with.

While he was distracted by the writing on the dirty old grave, Eden walked out from behind a tree, seeing Draco bent down as he read her mother's grave.

"What are you doing here?"

"Abella," His head whipped around to see her standing there with her arms folded across her chest. "You're going to catch a bloody cold. Come here."

As he walked closer holding the jacket out for her, she put a hand up and stepped backward. "No. I'm fine. I don't want it."

"I heard what happened... With you and Potter. Granger came to me. She asked me for help, that's why I am here right now, to answer your question from before... Did you spend the night here? Outside?" Still trying to get her to take the jacket and her still refusing with her hand in the way, Draco took the matter into his own hands and wrapped it around her shoulders. Eden didn't take it off after that.

"I did spend the night outside... Why do you care so much Malfoy? It's not that important. I was never in any danger by being here-"

"Abella... You know I don't even want to get into this argument right now. Can I not just be concerned for you? I want you to be safe, but you always seem to find yourself in predicaments where you're not. You're either risking your health or your life."

They'd had this conversation before... But this time it actually meant something to her.

Did he actually care?

Was there actually someone she knew who cared for her?

"You can't just be concerned because it comes out of no where. You're mad one second and caring the next. Your mood swings are starting to give me whiplash."

"Give me a break. I'm never mad at you. When have I been mad at you?"

Oh, she could name a bunch of times...

Before Eden could start listing off the many times he's been upset with her— which was almost all of the time— Hermione came from over the hill, stomping down the gravel path to get to her friend, whom she had been worried about the whole night. When she reached Eden her arms wrapped around her body and she hugged the girl who Hermione thought was in danger by now.

"I haven't slept, eaten, or drank because I just spent the entire night trying to find you! Harry's been worried-"

"Stop. I don't want to hear about him Hermione."

"He's really sorry Eden. He was with me all night trying to find you."

What was this?!

Was she really trying to excuse his actions; brush them under the rug? What a horrible thing to do to a friend who was just heartbroken!"

"You can't be serious right now Hermione... I just caught him fucking Ginny Weasley! I don't give a damn if he was worried I was gone. Stupid boy deserves all the worry and guilt he felt." Everything Eden said came from a place of new hatred for Harry. "I'll go home, but I don't want you coming with me. Neither of you. I don't need a bloody guardian to supervise my every move. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. I am not a child! I was going to go home soon anyway."

"If you're not a child stop acting like one... Maybe then everyone will start to believe you."

Eden couldn't believe those words just came out of Hermione's mouth. 

Right in front of Malfoy too.

Was she trying to make her feel like crap?

"Me?! Acting like a child?! Hmm, how about I go and fuck around with Ronald then? Maybe you'll understand how I feel-"

"Abella cut it out." Draco shook his head as he dragged his thumb against his bottom lip roughly and pushing it harshly against his bottom teeth. It was a way of letting out the tension he felt while listening to the two girls fight right in front of him.

She began to laugh and turned her back toward them, walking to a tree and leaning against it. "You know," She turned back, eyes narrowing toward Hermione. "You can go back to that house of yours and tell everyone that they don't need to worry for me anymore... If I am as bad as you say of course."

This was all going downhill.

Lost her boyfriend and one of her best friends in the span of 24 hours... How much worse could it be for the girl.

"That's not what I meant-"

Eden apparated away, not even wanting to hear anything Hermione had to say. The excuses were always so annoying.

Sure, she might have not meant it the way it came out, but it came out that way regardless and if Hermione was ever going to learn to watch her mouth, she needed to face the consequences.

"Fantastic. You've scared her off. What else do you plan on doing to her?" Draco rolled his eyes and began to pace back and forth with the snow crunching beneath his shoes.

"Thanks for your help Malfoy. If you want to be a good person, don't tell anyone that you've seen Harry and I." With that Hermione was gone too, leaving Draco alone in the cemetery.

Where did this all go so wrong and why was Hermione so angry with her.

She was just gone for a night and she was clearly safe. He was sure even Granger would run off if she walked in on what Eden had. Maybe it was just her motherly side? Feeling the need to be responsible for Eden and her actions, but either way what was said was out of line, on both ends.

Despite Eden's request, Draco apparated into her apartment with no issues and once he did, he didn't hear the end of it from her. She was still standing up. Her hands were running through her wavy hair and she looked as if she was on the verge of tears.

"How did you get in here? I thought only I could-"

"I made adjustments Abella. Why do you think I took so long to put the enchantments up..? Are you alright?"

Him being there in the room with her made her want to throw up from holding back all the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes.

Her throat was tightening and the pit in her stomach was growing and growing until she began to shake uncontrollably.

Keep it together.

Not in front of him.

Please Eden! Not in front of him. That is embarrassing.

"You're allowed to cry. What do you think I'm going to do?"

A tear rolled down her cheek, but she swiftly turned brushed it away with the sleeve of her jacket.

"Draco please just go... I don't want you to think I'm a bloody child."

"Crying doesn't make you a child."

It was coming.

The rivers of tears were coming and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

With every breath it was becoming harder to hold in the tears because every time she breathed she released some of her emotion.

"Why are you so persistent on staying here with me?"

When she turned around her eyes were red and glossy, her cheeks looked hot from how red they were and her lip was quivering. Still she tried to hold back her cry.

"Because I'm worried. I don't want you to hurt yourself over something stupid like this. And I know you're thinking it because I'm in your head." His tone was serious and his eyes felt like they were piercing her as more of her feelings were showing through.

Was it bad that Eden was beginning to enjoy his presence? 

The way he cared for her... It was intense, but nice. 

It was starting to feel like whenever he was around, she would be happier and calmer than she usually was, rather than upset and fed up with him.

What was she saying?

No.

It was just because she was an emotional train wreck on the verge of breaking down. That was why she felt like this... No other reason.

All of a sudden she slapped her hands to her face and turned around again, hiding herself from him. Eden was a hideous crier.

At least she thought so.

As she began to audibly cry Draco was looking everywhere but her.

Even with her back toward him it felt strange just staring at her.

He was debating walking over and patting her shoulder to let her know he was there for her. But what was the point if she obviously thought illy of him.

"Do you need a hug?"

A hug?

That almost made her laugh from how weird that word was leaving Draco's mouth.

Right when he thought Eden completely ignored what he said to her, she turned around and walked over, wrapping her arms around his torso and squeezing him gently.

Now although he asked, Draco was not expecting her to actually do it.

Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her too, resting his chin on the top of her head and just letting her stay in his arms until she felt it was enough.

He didn't mind this... Having this tiny girl in his arms, close to him.

The fact that she was letting herself cry in front of him made him feel somewhat special.

This was a step forward and even if Eden didn't care or realize, this meant something small to Draco and he was glad that he came here instead of leaving her alone.

Having someone to hug when you're down must be nice...

Draco wouldn't know.

Everyone always criticized him for feeling anything but professional.

Ever since he was a boy, his father would send him away, never in his life was he ever helpful and his mom... Well she was gone now wasn't she. Without anyone who actually cared for him, not even Astoria, it was becoming harder on him when he did occasionally need to cry or let out any of his feelings.

"You should get a journal... Write down your feelings in it." 

Ah yes, a journal. Draco knew all about that. Sitting in the bottom drawer of his dresser was an old one, almost filled to the very last page with every last problem he's ever had.

It seemed to help him, so perhaps it would help Eden as well.

"God sorry... This is so humiliating." There she went. 

Breaking the closeness and sliding out of his arms. They now felt empty without her in them.

It felt empty without her leaning her head on his chest. Everything just felt so weird now that she was gone.

She wiped her tears away

"Go take a shower. It'll make you feel better. I'll be here."

Eden listened to him for once.

A shower would be nice, not only because she was upset, but because she slept outside on the ground the night prior. It would make her feel better knowing that she washed away the disgusting feeling.

That night Draco stayed for the majority, not listening whenever Eden told him to leave.

Though now whenever she said it, there was no meaning behind the words. She just said it because she knew that's what she said all of the time.

Did she really want him gone?

No.

But she needed to act like it in order for him to not be suspicious of the sudden mood change.

For the next days, no one reached out to her. Not an apology from Harry OR Hermione... Eden didn't really care for an apology from Harry, but it would have been nice. She did want one from Hermione though.

Her stubbornness was preventing her from saying it first, but she knew she was in the wrong too. Saying things about Ron like that... Ugh! She would never get over that. Just thinking about it made her cringe.

She was way out of line there.

For all those days, Draco didn't bother coming once and Eden was beginning to question if she scared him off the night she hugged him and cried in front of him...

God that made her cringe too.

That whole day was a mess and as hard as she tried to forget about it she couldn't.

Having so much regret was building up on her. She was starting to feel like there were weights on her shoulders... She rarely ever got any sleep from thinking too hard at night, but she always somehow ended up outside on the fire escape with a stick between her teeth and her wand in her hand.

Being so lonely, was becoming an issue once again.

But that was not her biggest concern of the moment.

An envelop was slipped under her door, in it a letter from the lady who owned the building. It was threat, basically telling her that if she did not get the money she owed to her on her desk by February 10th, she would be kicked out.

As if her life was not already spiralling down into a deep, bottomless hole.

For many days she cried just thinking about all of what was put out on her plate.

Loss of friends, loss of boyfriend, loss of house, loss of job. At this point she was starting to think maybe being killed by that Death Eater wouldn't have been so bad anyway...


	39. Memory 9

February, 1998

Boy did Eden hate February. She's despised it ever since she was rejected by her 4th grade crush... That was before Hogwarts. Before the shit hit the fan and her life became so much harder to deal with.

The 10th of February was here. Still Eden had no way of paying.

It wasn't her fault though. No one was hiring the girl!

They thought she was too inexperienced and again, the issue of not having any schooling or prior jobs to put on her resume was a big issue. No one would hire someone who didn't even attended middle school.

Leaving this room today would be horrid because Edenknew she would need to face the lady whom she needed to pay, but she did need to eventually.

There was no more food in her fridge. 

No snacks in her cupboards. 

Nothing.

After an hour of contemplation, Eden threw on a white shirt and some blue jeans and headed out the door. Her hair was not an issue. Maybe the owner would not even notice her without her famous braids.

Finally leaving the room, she walked down the hall and down the steep staircase. It was looking to be good. Maybe she wouldn't see her after all... She was very wrong.

"Eden dear!"

Crap...

She made it to the sidewalk and somehow still got caught.

Eden turned, smiling fearfully at the person she owed so much money to. 

"Oh I'm so glad that you were able pay it all off. I knew you had it in you!"

"P-Pay? I'm sorry what did I pay off?"

The lady laughed and put a hand on the girls shoulder, patting it roughly. "Don't be ridiculous! You paid off what you owed me. A boy came and dropped it off this morning. He had bright bright hair, looked like bleach but when I asked him he said it was all natural! Would you look at that. There he is. Well, I'll let you go off to wherever you were going. I'll see you around."

"Yeah... Of course."

Why would he do this! She specifically told him not to do something like this.

"Malfoy! Why?" She smacked his shoulder and looked up into his eyes as he shielded them from the morning sunrise which was hiding just behind the clouds.

"Because you were going to be homeless had I not stepped in and done anything. Just accept the gift."

"No no! I haven't seen you in weeks and then you- You just pay off my debt? What's the catch?" She crossed her arms across her chest and still, confidently looked into his cold blue eyes which looked even bluer with the sun hitting them.

"The what?"

"You heard me. The catch. What is it. You never do anything nice without a catch."

His infamous smirk returned to his lips as he looked away from her and began to walk, conveniently, in the direction of the grocery store which gave Eden no choice but to follow him. "You're right Abella. There is a catch."

"Oh! Just wonderful-"

"The catch is that you stay out of trouble. No more stepping into battles like you did at the burrow."

That was seriously his only wish?

"That was like a month ago Malfo-"

He shushed her by putting a finger to his lips and looked over at her as he continued to walk. "I don't care. With things getting more serious. I don't want you stepping into places you're not supposed to be. He's looking for Potter."

"Voldemort?"

Well of course Eden who the fuck else?

Draco nodded his head and pursed his lips together. "He'll be after you too soon. You won't be safe living on your own. They'd ambush you if they found you-"

"Let's worry about one problem at a time. It's too early to even tell if he wants me. The war hasn't even started. You're thinking too far ahead-" She was cut off once again when his voice overtook her own.

"There is nothing wrong with being prepared. You'll be thanking me one day when you realize I did more to help you than anyone else cares to do."

The only question on her mind was how he knew all of these things?

Was he a loyal Death Eater?

Perhaps he was only getting closer to her because of the Dark Lord's orders? 

She hoped not.

For some reason she felt like that would hurt a lot more than any heartbreak she had faced with Harry or any falling out she had with Hermione or the rest of her friends for that matter.

"If I were a loyal Death Eater do you think I would have helped Granger look for you that one day? Do you think I would even come and visit you every day if I was a loyal death eater Abella?" He sounded offended, though she supposed that was a valid response for someone who did not like what Voldemort was planning. "Do you think I would tell you all of the things I've heard, put all of the enchantments up in your room?"

"How am I supposed to know you're not just doing all of that because you were ordered to do so. It's hard to trust you when all you've done to me my whole life was lie."

Draco smiled and looked away from her, toward the sign of a bakery they were passing. "I guess that is fair."

This was new. A smile. One that wasn't forced.

"Is it true?"

"If it were true why would I tell you..?"

The look on her face told him that she was not impressed with his answer and he shook his head while looking back toward her.

"It was a joke Abella."

"Jokes are supposed to be funny. That was not funny. The only thing that did was make me trust you LESS."

"So uptight today aren't we?"

Choosing to ignore him, Eden continued walking, not daring to look at him to prove a point, but his gaze on her was too much for her not to.

"What?!"

"You're a absolute idiot."

Did he really just say that to her?! Was she hearing this right?

"Huh?"

"You don't need to go to a grocery store for food when you have a wand and two hands. If you need food just cast a spell."

Now he was correct but...

But...

Yeah there was no excuse aside from the mere fact the girl liked to walk.

Eden was just an idiot.

At least the walk was nice...

Now she needed to do it all the way back.

"I want normalcy..."

"Then why are you walking back?" He asked her, following as she turned on her heel and started her way back to her apartment.

She shook her head, ignored him and continued walking to her destination.

As the two of them walked side by side, occasionally glancing over at one another a girl around their age tapped Draco's shoulder, catching his attention therefore catching Eden's as well.

The girl in front of them was around Eden's height. She had long brown hair, straight, and had greenish eyes from what she could make out. Wore all black of course... Who did Draco know who didn't wear all black aside from Eden.

"I knew it was you. We haven't seen each other in a while. How's everything been?" The girl asked Draco while placing a hand on her hip for balance. It looked as though she planned on speaking for a while, but Draco had other plans.

"I've been well Pansy. How about you?"

"So formal and for what Draco. We're not strangers."

Was Pansy choosing to ignore Eden's presence or was she genuinely being serious right now.

"And you're here with Eden Abella... To say I'm surprised is an understatement." Right in front of her, Pansy let the rude remark slip off the tip of her tongue, though she did not look like she regretted what she said.

Draco's eyes rolled to the back of his head while he looked over his old friend once again. "It's not like that. I'm just making sure she gets home alright-"

"Yeah okay... Whatever. Hey, I heard about what Harry did to you. What a shame-"

"Pansy cut that out!"

In response to her snarky comment, Eden put a hand up in front of Draco telling him to stop speaking. "It is a shame isn't it... And who are you with right now Pansy? Blaise? Dante? Both?"

For a moment Pansy's brows furrowed, but instead of being offended she smiled! The girl smiled after Eden clearly brought up something she was shameful about. Everyone knew, but they pretended they did not.

"Ah. Maybe we're more alike than I thought... Say, there's a party tonight. Invite only. If you two would like to come. I'd like to get to know Eden a little bit better."

Something was off, Draco could sense it. That or the fact that he did not like that Pansy was all up in Eden's business and now wanted to 'get to know her'.

That girl was a bad example, not someone he wanted Eden to be around.

She would be able to talk her into doing such bad things and knowing the way Eden was, she would do them without a second to actually think.

"Thanks, but we're busy-"

"We'd love to come." Eden'a eyes narrowed toward Draco and she shot him a cold stare, one that put her in control.

"Great. It's at my house. Keep it on the low though. With everything starting I can't have anyone important knowing I'm partying with Harry Potters soulmate. Might not matter now, but it will in the future. No offence. I know it's not your fault. You poor girl." Pansy reach her hand out to touch her shoulder, but Draco put his hand up and pushed her hand away.

"We'll see you tonight then Parkinson?"

"Of course, of course... You two enjoy yourselves."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The whole way back Eden got scolded for interrupting Draco when he spoke, but everything he said was going in one ear and out of the other. He kept on telling her that it was a mistake and that there was still time to say no, but Eden had not been to a party in months... A real party not one at the burrow.

She missed drinking, dancing... Doing drugs, but that was more of a thing she kept to herself. Wouldn't want everyone thinking she was some kind of drug abuser because she was not, but occasionally she smoked, snorted, all of that fun stuff.

After Draco realized she was hellbent on going, there was nothing more to do and after getting ready himself later on that night, he met back with her at her apartment and apparated her to the Parkinson residence.

Pansy's parents must have not been home. They would never let something like this happen if they knew about it. Her parents were always out. She was either alone or had a bunch of people at her house, destroying it and leaving a mess for her to clean up afterward. Pansy didn't mind though. It gave her something to do.

Draco looked down to his right arm right as he caught Eden from stumbling to the floor from the long distance they just travelled in under a second. "You're fine, stop overreacting."

"Try having motion sickness. You'd be dizzy too Malfoy."

Always something with them.

At least there was never a dull moment.

Pansy stood in the doorway a few seconds after their arrival. She looked over them and the current position they were in which was then Draco noticed and let the girl in his arm go. "You two made it. At the rate it was taking you, I thought you were not going to show. Let me guess... It was Eden who took up the time?"

"Yes-"

"No-"

They glared at one another intensely before she broke it up, stepping down from the porch of her home and grabbing Eden's hand.

"There is so much we need to get talking about. To start with, can you do my hair like that?"

Pansy really just took Eden away from him... Gosh, it had been so long since he did not have to worry about her. She was always on his mind no matter what time of the day or what situation he was in, but he did have trust in his friend. He knew she wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt Eden even if they had bad blood during school at Hogwarts.

There were so many people who would want to talk to him. So many people he'd been trying to avoid.

After he graduated he lost touch with everyone bu choice. He was more focused on himself than anyone, including Astoria at the time, but now... Now he really needed to get his act together and remember the faces he once saw every day in the halls of that damned school.

Eden was finished Pansy's hair in the 15 minutes she arrived and once all the girls saw what talent she had, they all wanted a crown of braids around their heads.

Thankfully Pansy stepped in and told them to back off and leave her alone.

Eden personally learned from Narcissa, but up until that moment she thought every other young girl was taught how to as well.

Perhaps she was grateful that she did know how to do the braids to her hair. It added spice to her look, which she otherwise found so bland without them.

For majority of the night Draco hadn't even seen the girl, but as more time passed and more people arrived, he started to feel a small pit in his stomach knowing he didn't have eyes on her at all times.

That sounded creepy, but it was just the way he felt...

In order for him to feel fine, he needed to find her or at least just make sure she was alright.

"Say Pansy! I'm actually having fun." Eden twirled her new friend as hey rocked back and forth to the music playing around them as did everyone else that was dancing with them in the spacey living room.

"Do you have more of this? I liked it." The cup in Eden's hand was empty when she tilted it for Pansy to see.

Whatever she had was making her feel warm. Her chest was burning and that's how she knew she was going to get the outcome she set out for...

"Drink anymore and you'll get shit faced Abella... Unless that's the point?"

The smirk and look on her face was enough to give Pansy the answer to that question, but it gave her more than she asked for. There was a hint of panic in Eden's brown eyes.

"I won't tell him, but after he finds you and takes you home, that's out of my control. Here."

How convenient, they were right beside the table which held a variety of drinks on it ranging from expensive wines— that most likely belonged to her parents— to vodka.

"Here take this and chug. We'll do another round right after. Let it kick in and you'll be out like a light. Or at least that's what it'll feel like tomorrow. And just a word of advice, if Draco does get mad, just brush it off. He's not your bloody father Eden."

Just like they planned, they chugged one cup of the strongest drink they could find and then chugged it one more time.

Gosh was it gross.

Eden almost threw up after the first chug.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do you know where Eden is?" Draco asked girl after girl hoping one of them was actually spending time with her, but none of them knew where she was. They'd either tell him they didn't know who she was or that they'd seen her earlier, but lost her after she ran off with Pansy...

If he didn't find her soon he was going to wreck the damn place.

No joke.

He would strip it down until he found her.

Stop that Draco! You're getting too worked up. It's a party for crying out loud when did you become such a prude?

His thoughts were something along the lines of that and the harder he thought about it the more he realized it was true.

What was the worst that could possibly happen to her?

She gets drunk? So what...

So what Draco? She could die from alcohol poisoning, choke on her own vomit if she locked herself in a bathroom and threw up. And you already know what every guy would think if they saw a drunk girl with no one around to defend her.

It was all true.

Everything he thought was true and could happen.

He should have just told her no and left it at that. No party, no anything, but the girl would have argued her way into coming either way and even if he still said no to her, she would have just shown up on her own without him.

It was better that he was here and not halfway across the country where he would have no idea of her antics.

"S-Stop... Stop!"

Draco's throat tightened and his nails dug into his palms in anger. His head whipped to the direction it came form and beneath the dim lights of Pansy's house, behind the sea of people who had no idea what was happening or were in their own world, he saw her.

Eden.

His impulse took over, pushing everyone and everything out of the way on his path toward her and whoever it was that was bothering her.

"Please- Please just let go!"

"No-"

"Let go of her!" Draco grabbed the girl and pulled her to his chest.

His state was deadly, but behind that was a message; a warning.

If the guys who was just all up on her didn't listen there would be more than just yelling.

"Are you okay?"

He pulled Eden away from him, finally realizing the severity of her drunkenness.

"Answer me Eden are you okay?! Yes or no." His eyebrows rose, waiting for a response, but instead got something simple felt different.

"You've just said my name... That's my thing Draco."

"Yes I just said your name. Did he do anything to hurt you? Tell me now Eden before we leave-"

"Leave?! I'm not leaving. You leave."

"Answer my damn question."

"No... No I'm f-fine... I didn't like how touchy he was. His hands were going under my top, I could feel his hands on my back-"

Before she could even finish explaining everything he did to her, Draco turned to the boy who stood there acting all confused. Acting like he was so innocent... His fist collided with his head, the impact being so hard it knocked him right out cold and down to the floor he went.

It was deserved.

"Draco stop! Oh god you've killed him!"

Poor her.

Being so out of it she must have really thought he just killed him in front of her.

"I have not done anything of the sort. Now come on. You're a mess."


	40. Memory 10

February, 1998

Pounding, aching pain.

Eden refused to get up but it was becoming too much for her to ignore and by then she wasn't even asleep anymore, nor was she tired enough to fall back into it.

Taking a pill now would help in the long run. At least she would get rid of the pain now instead of later when it built up.

"No need. I can provide all the assistance you'll be needing. Here you go. Some water."

"Fred?"

"And Malfoy. He's run out though. Tells me he went to the bakery down the street to pick something up for you... Well don't look so surprised. He knows where the safe house is. Told me everything that happened last night while he was at it."

He knew?

Why did Draco know?

Did she miss something in the time that she was asleep and why was she only finding out now from Fred, whom she had no contact with until this very second. "How does he know where it is? Why does he know where it is?"

"Has he not told you Eden? He's working for both sides. During the day he's an resistance member, at night he's a Death Eater. You must have known this. The guy tells you a lot more than he tells me."

How embarrassing. She knew nothing about this. Fred must have thought she was clueless or something.

Draco did not in fact tell her anything about this... Did he too think she was incapable of knowing this information, just like Harry? Hermione? Everyone for that matter? And here she thought maybe one person didn't view her that way. Though what else was she supposed to expect from him. He's a Malfoy for a reason.

"There's a reason I didn't tell you." He suddenly shut the door behind himself, barging in on the conversation. "Here, eat this or you'll feel sick."

One look inside the bag and she could make out what it was.

Bread with chocolate chips.

How Draco knew that was her favourite was beyond her, but after spending sometime with him, she could come to the conclusion that perhaps he watched her get it in the morning when she used to leave work. The bakery was 24 hours, which was just her luck since when she used to work, her shift ended in the middle of the night. The cravings would kick in around then.

Fred awkwardly turned back to Eden and rose his eyebrows as a way of alerting her of how serious Draco was.

For Eden, this tone, this posture, this Draco was not serious whatsoever.

She's seen serious, and angry, and happy, but this was his calm. His shoulders were relaxed, his posture was kind of slouching.

After finishing the food he so graciously got for her, she spent a few minutes getting ready.

The girl was still wearing the clothes she wore the night before at the party and her jeans were uncomfortable at that point. Her hair was basically stuck to her head for when she took out the pins her hair did not even fall out of formation. That's what she got for sleeping on it like this.

Her hair was going to be so tangled and hard to brush out now because of that very reason...

"Malfoy?"

"What Fred?"

Fred laughed and turned his head toward him. "Fred? You've just called me Fred. That's so strange to hear from you."

"Well you are my favourite twin after all."

"I'm just surprised you can tell George and I apart. You knew right when you came who you were speaking to." Fred laid back on the pillow of Eden's bed, getting comfortable on stuff that wasn't even his. "Uh, but anyway, I wanted to ask you something. Why did you not tell Eden about your... Dual loyalty?"

Draco shifted uncomfortably in his place on the couch and broke the stare being held between the two boys. "I didn't want her to worry. I mean, it's not like she would care much about me, more about you guys, like Harry and such. She's put herself in dangerous situations because of Potter before." Now looking up at the ceiling, Draco tilted his head back and stretched his arms out to the sides, resting on the back frame of her couch. "I think that she thinks I'm a bad guy, but I don't blame her. After everything I've done to her I think she has the right to that. But I'm not doing this for Harry. I'm doing this for Eden. If I know everything that's happening on both sides, I can protect her."

"How come? How come you want to protect her? Do you fancy her?"

"Absolutely not. I do not fancy her. I just need to. It's something I felt after my mother died. This feeling of responsibility came over me and I can't ignore it. She's all I think about, when I'm with her, when I'm not with her, when I'm with someone else, when I try to sleep at night. I like knowing she's safe."

He definitely fancies her. He's just denying it because he feels it's something to be ashamed about.

Fred thought, internally smirking at this new realization.

Little did he know it would only take Draco one look at his eyes to get into his mind and see everything he was thinking in that current moment.

He didn't though. He didn't because he only liked to use it when it was needed, unless it came to Abella, whom Draco listened to more than anyone else, but again, only at times when he needed honest answers from her.

Sure, mind reading was a great tool. And yes, he did abuse the power at times, but overall he was good at keeping it together and not overdoing it with his gift.

While Draco zoned off into his own world, Fred was left trying to figure out why he had been told so much about Malfoy's life. There was some kind of trust there, but trying to figure out why was giving him a headache.

From around the corner of the bathroom door Eden heard everything. Everything from the beginning to the end of the conversation.

The shower still running worked as a perfect distraction while she stood with her ear against the door and towel wrapped snuggly around her body.

It wasn't like this was life changing news to her, but it definitely did make her see things a little differently. The possessiveness. The need to always make sure she was safe. It was because that's what his mother always did. Now he thought the responsibility was on him.

This needed to be talked about when they had the chance to be alone again. Without Fred as a distraction. His presence would only make the conversation less meaningful.

Shortly after she put her clothes on she walked out of the bathroom with her hair still wet and running past her shoulders as she brushed it. When Eden realized that both the boys were still sitting there waiting for her, she stopped.

To make it sound like she was not listening to them, she needed to act surprised or annoyed or anything that would be something she'd normally do.

"You two actually waited. How delightful... I suppose you're going to stay and wait for me to do my hair too? Perhaps you two want to shove into the bathroom altogether too?" Eden sarcastically asked while rolling her eyes.

Fred shot up from the chair with excitement. "I mean, if you say so."

Both Draco and Eden looked at him. She had a more loose glare than her friend who was no longer leaning back, but rather sat twisting his body to see what was happening and if Fred was being serious.

Fred looked back and forth, catching the painfully hard stare of the boy on the couch. "I suppose I am no longer your favourite twin then? I'll go get George."

Eden shut the door of the bathroom once again leaving them alone for only a minute before she walked out with her hair with half her hair up in a braid and the other half down, falling down her back. It was all dry, but that was because Eden was smart enough to learn a spell that could help her with that. It came in handy in some cases. If she ever got caught in the rain she could easily dry herself.

She'd known the spell for so long that she did not even need to use her wand in order to perform it. Just raising her hand, an orange/yellow spark would fly out and the spell would work.

"I want to see Harry." Eden said confidently with her hands clenched into fists.

"You want to see Harry?!" Fred was astonished.

"Yes Fred thanks for the repetition."

Draco stood fully from the couch now, leaning against the wall and shifting uncomfortably from the statement she just made.

What could she possibly want from Harry? He's done her so wrong and it would kill him to watch her just forgive him that easily. But she probably missed him-

No.

She DID miss him.

"Don't give me that look Malfoy. It's not like I would be committing a crime if I go speak to him. I just want to speak. We haven't spoken in a month. I don't have a clue what's been going on with Voldemort-"

Fred flinched at his name being said.

Like it even mattered anymore.

"And if he's not safe than I want to be there to help him." She quickly rephrased that while looking at Draco's already shocked face drop once more. "I mean I want to be there to help him in the sense of like, healing and talking. But would it even be that bad if I joined him in a fight?"

"YES." Both the boys said at the same time, looking at one another for a second, but then immediately back at her.

"You too Fred? Does no one trust me-"

"No." Draco could be so straight forward sometimes. It amazed her how he even had friends that enjoyed his presence...

Wait a second.

She enjoyed his presence.

Well she is different because she's... She is just different no question about it.

"Hey! Don't be rude to her."

"You were thinking it too Weasley..."

Eden quickly cut in seeing the confused look on his face. "He can read minds."

Fred's mouth opened into an O shape and he was stuck trying to figure out who he wanted to look at as they were both on opposite ends of the room. "That's fantastic."

"Yeah. Fantastic if you don't spend every day with him."

Everyday? He's here everyday?

Fred was so confused. How much time did the two actually spend together?

"She doesn't really mean everyday. She's exaggerating and I don't even go into her mind often. She's just being a brat."

He did not just call her a brat!

It was so hard to keep it together in front of Fred. She channeled all of her anger into the ball her fist was becoming by her side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somehow, by the time it was time to go to the safe house, Eden did not lash out once. Not even at Fred, who sometimes got a little annoying with the constant jokes he made, some even being about her.

Draco left only moments before Fred and Eden stepped out into the hall and like the snap of two fingers, they were outside of the small, squished house that was hidden between two other muggle houses.

If there really was going to be a war, they needed to upgrade. This place wouldn't be enough for everyone that would be injured, all of the supplies, a place for eating and sleeping.

It was pretty small.

Eden's nerves were beginning to kick in when she approached the door, her hands were shaking slightly, but it went unnoticed because of how much things were running through her mind. By walking through that door she was opening herself up to seeing Ginny and Hermione and knowing the girl Hermione was, she probably went around the whole house telling everyone how horrible of a person she was just because she stuck up for herself.

"Eden's here!" Fred shouted as the door opened.

Oh great. He's spoiled it.

Now everyone knew she was here.

Everyone in the bloody house...

Gosh, as if she wasn't already embarrassed enough to find herself back here in the first place.

The place looked more run down than it did the last time she was here. The wallpaper on the walls looked to be tearing and the wood from the stairs, doors and frames were chipped all over. Though she supposed that's what happens when you live with a bunch of Weasley's, a bunch of old professors and Harry Potter, 'the chosen one'

Sudden footsteps could be heard running down the stairs and by the time the culprit reached the bottom he was stumbling over his own feet and out of breath.

There he was.

Harry stood down the hall looking right at her.

He was the reason she came... But why was she not moving now? Why was she frozen?

It all came flooding back to her. All of the feelings she felt the moment she saw what he was doing behind her back. All of the things she said before she disappeared.

Behind him Ginny Weasley stood cowering behind the frame of the door leading to the kitchen and standing right beside her was Hermione, who was doing the same thing but on the other side of the frame.

All eyes were on Eden and the house went quiet.

"Eden-" Harry started, but she cut him off right away.

"We need to talk. Alone."

The tension was so painful and awkward that everyone around the two looked at one another with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows.

"Yeah. We do."

Fred departed from her side when she followed Harry up the stairs and into an empty room which had a few beds and a window looking out onto the road.

From that view you could see all the tree's that lined the grass right across the street and since they were so high up she could see the faint street lights from a few streets down in the neighbourhood.

Finally calm, they were able to have a real conversation. Not like last month where Harry was trying and Eden stayed yelling in his face, basically telling him how much he fucked up their relationship.

"Did you sleep with Ginny because you hate me?"

"What?! Of course not Eden-"

"Because I'm ugly?"

"No-"

"Because you think I'm a child who's incapable of doing anything serious? Or maybe because you just don't love me anymor-"

"NO Eden. Don't even say that. Of course I love you. I'll always love you-"

"Then why did you do it?!" Tears were burning at the corner of her eyes as she looked into his green eyes. "Can you just tell me that because for all these weeks I- I've been thinking it's something I did-"

"I don't know why I did it. I don't know... And I regret it dearly. I regretted it the moment it happened. It was a mistake." He walked closer to her and grabbed her cold and tiny hand in his. With his free hand, he put two fingers under her chin and made her look up at him since she had a tendency for wandering eyes. "There is no excuse for what I did. I knew what I was doing and I still did it, but it meant nothing. It still means nothing. Ginny and I have not even spoken since it happened."

Well at least there was some good news.

He quickly wiped a falling tear and continued from where he left off. "I'm sorry Eden. I'm so sorry. You're the most important thing to me in this world. I only want you. No one else."

"That's ironic because you say that now until you get bored and want to fuck her again right? Until you lie to me again because you're too scared to tell me you've lost the feelings we once had..."

Harry looked down. By the tone of her voice, the girl didn't even sound surprised or shocked. Just hurt.

"How long have you known about what I was doing?"

"I started suspecting at the New Year's party at the burrow. Ginny was all over you. It was hard to miss, but I kept pushing that thought aside because I thought 'hey, Harry would never do that to me', but then I walked in on you two and the reality came crashing down on me. It hurt you know?.. Who am I kidding. You wouldn't know because I didn't cheat on you!" Her hand wrapped around his wrist and she pushed his hand off of her. While she was at it she snatched her other hand away from his hold and took a step back.

The urge to run over and kiss him was surprisingly strong.

She thought it was because she just wanted this to be over. She wanted things the way they used to be, but that was not the truth...

The truth was that the connection between them could sense the tension and the fighting and it's only way to resolve those issues was to make them show affection. It was a known thing. Eden read about it from a book in the library.

Oh fuck it.

Eden rushed back over to him, grabbing his face and pulling him down so that their lips could meet.

It had been so long since she felt like this.

His arms wrapped around her waist felt so possessive and safe. His body being pressed up against her's was so warm and because she was such a small girl it was like he engulfed her and in a sense, shielded her.

No.

Stop.

You can't do this.

You can't do this. It is not right.

Her mind was going crazy and she was telling herself to stop, but nothing was working. The connection was taking control of her. Eden knew she should not have given in.

Focus on yourself Eden. Stay concentrated.

The kiss deepened and her hands began to run through his hair, messing it up even more than it already was. His glasses her basically falling off of his face as he leaned down to get closer to her.

Think of something. Anything!

Draco Malfoy.

There it was.

Eden pushed Harry off of her gently, but still kept a grip on his upper arms while she panted for air that she did not have anymore. "We can't do this. It's obvious you want to move on and I think I should to-"

"No! No, Eden wait don't leave yet plea-"

"Yes Harry! Yes. It's what we both need. What we have will never change, but we've outgrown each other. We'd be better off going our separate ways... Staying just frien-"

"I'll wait for you." Harry put his hand on the door, shutting it again and making Eden lose her grip on the small round metal knob on the door. "I'll wait until you want me again. I won't stop thinking about you. I love you-"

This hurt so much worse now that it was all coming out of her mouth and not just playing in her head while she showered.

"Stop that Harry. Stop it. That is not fair."

"I'll wait Eden. This is not the end of our story."

Ouch.

That hit far into her heart. She swore she could feel it breaking with every word he said.

"I love you, but we can't be together," Eden gripped the door handle again, successfully slipping out the door this time. "I'm sorry."

"Don't leave me yet. Please don't!"

His grip on her wrist stopped her from going down the flight of stairs leading to the bottom level where they were both sure everyone was listening to their conversation.

"I'll come back Harry. I'm not leaving forever... I'll be back. I'm going to help you when the war starts-"

"No you're not. You're going to stay put. You are NOT getting involved in this. I swear I won't let that happen to you even if it means I die for it-"

"I'm helping! Whether you like it or not, I'm going to help. He killed my parents too. He's taken everything from me and now he's after you-"

Andddd she let it slip.

"He's after you now and even if I'm mad at you and we're not together, I won't lose you to him. So I'm helping!"

Atta girl.

Going after what she wants, just like Narcissa taught her.


	41. Memory 11

February, 1998

"So that's it? You're just going to ignore me and go off on your own?.. Seriously Abella? Look at me."

Eden's head whipped around to the boy standing beside her, clearly upset by the choices she made yesterday.

Going to help Harry and the people who don't care about her. The people who claim to be her friends but leave for weeks without even calling or checking up. The only people Eden talked to on a daily basis was her parents and Draco, but somehow he still occupied more time than her own family.

"I'm looking Malfoy! My answer is still the fucking same. Doesn't matter if I'm looking or not. You're literally standing here yelling at me because I want to help my soulmate. If Astoria were in this kind of situation you're telling me you would leave her to die because that is basically what you are asking me to do with Harry-"

"Listen to me!" He gripped her forearm tightly and pulled her closer to him so that he could remind her of the power he had. "I'm not telling you to let him die. I am telling you not to get involved. The last thing you need is to be buried 6 feet deep."

"Thank you for your concern, but I think I'll take advice from someone who calls me by my first name-" Eden ripped her arm out of his grasp and threw the bag she was packing over her shoulder, but with a sudden swing Draco grabbed the bag and threw down to the floor.

In an attempt to intimidate her, he grabbed both of her arms now, rendering her defenceless. She couldn't grab her wand, she couldn't move her hands. She was now powerless, staring up at him with fading confident eyes. "Maybe now you'll listen to me. You are NOT going."

"What are you really going to do if I go? You don't own me and you can't control me. The moment you leave this place I'll go."

"You'll regret saying that-

Eden's eyes opened suddenly and the feeling of her pounding heart was enough to get her wide awake in only seconds.

She was not home. This was not her bed and not her room, rather her apartment. She fell asleep on the bloody couch of the safe house.

On the floor right beside where she slept was Fred, who was the only one who cared to speak to her last night.

Harry was busy in the study writing down lists upon lists of people he might reach out to, supplies that were needed for a potential battle and food supply that would last months had they really needed it.

The reality of this was beginning to set into her mind.

This was really happening...

A war was eventually going to break out, it was just a matter of who threw the first attack.

Ron followed everything Harry told him to do. He was like his very own puppet. If Harry needed water he came running down getting it for him. If Harry needed food he did the same thing. Harry needed paper? Oh, Ron would get that for him. It was like a constant cycle which Eden failed to realize when they were not so stressed out about Voldemort.

Ginny did not dare step close to Eden, which was a good thing because if she got close enough Eden was sure to rip her hair out of her head without any regrets afterward. She was surprised she hadn't already done that to Harry if she was being quite honest.

Placing one foot down onto the cool wooden floor, her eyes diverted to the small window which faced the front of the house. The sun looked to still be hiding. The sky was dark, blue almost black.

The clock on the wall was stopped. It's been like that for a while, but no one ever cared to fix it. Not with all of the stress.

Eden just assumed it was sometime in the early morning and pushed the thought aside. There were bigger things to worry about. Her hands were ice cold, her jeans were uncomfortable and her hair was still braided.

She hated when she fell asleep with it like that. It gave her a headache when she woke up.

Her eyes zoned out for a moment as her arms stretched behind her head and she let out a quiet yawn.

It was probably time she head back, even if it meant she felt like puking after... Apparating right after she woke up was like double the motion sickness.

Two large bangs came from the front door. Two very hard knocks that Eden was sure would have woken at least Fred up if not the whole house.

They came again, harder this time.

Yeah this was not going to work.

The last thing she needed was a confrontation with Hermione or Ginny while they went to go answer the door.

Eden always kept her wand by her side, but conveniently it was tucked into the side of her leg right between the fabric of her jeans and the cushion of the sofa.

Must have fallen out of her coat while she tossed and turned in her sleep. She was known to do that, especially if she had a memorable dream. Harry told her once before.

Enough about Harry! 

For once could she just stop it? It was starting to annoy her and she was the one at fault for it to begin with.

BANG! BANG!

Two more.

That was when she finally had enough.

While tightly holding onto the handle of her wand, Eden walked down the extremely slim hallway and to the old, cracking and dirty wooden door. She said it once and she'll say it again. This place needed to be updated!

Hesitantly, she pulled the door open and stuck her wand out in front of her just in case something were to spring out at her. But this was no animal. No dementor. No threat at all.

"You told me you'd be back. You told me before you left that you would be back at your place for the night and you lied-"

"Malfoy. I fell asleep."

"No Eden. When you promise me something you need to keep it. I was worried about you. I thought someone took you or something. It took me two hours to locate you until I realized that this place is untraceable so it was either you were dead or here. I'm glad I was correct."

He said her name. Her first name...

How creepy.

She just had a dream about that.

Saying she would only listen to someone who called her by her first name.

What made this coincidence even weirder was that it was Malfoy who the dream was about.

Very strange, but never mind... It was just mere coincidence.

She picked up that he only called her by her first name if he was being serious, if he were worried, or if she were upset... It was most likely just a slip up, but it was good to know he didn't just think of her as 'Abella the stubborn girl I watch because I'm a psychotic stalker'.

That was an exaggeration, but that was Eden for you.

"I'm sorry Draco. I just... I just fell asleep on the couch. I didn't mean to worry you. I'm sorry that I did." He didn't seem convinced by her words, so she took it up a notch. Both her little hands grasped onto one of his own and she squeezed it slightly.

"Tell me you won't do this again... Things are getting more serious now and having you roaming about all alone makes me feel like you won't retur-"

"I promise you. This was just a mistake. I'm terribly sorry."

So worried that boy was all of a sudden.

Was this the emotion he tried desperately to hide every single day?

If that was the case she didn't mind. Why was he so ashamed of showing this kind of emotion? He was like this with everyone too, even his parents from what she gather on her stay.

"I'll leave now. I'll go home now if that's what you want from me... Is that what you want?"

His eyes scanned over her full body quickly.

It appeared she had everything with her. Everything she left with he meant.

All of a sudden his fingers wrapped around the wrist that held her wand and he pulled her out of the house's protective enchantments and shut the door behind her.

It all happened so fast. The sudden yank, hitting his chest, spinning around so that he could shut the door. So fast that she didn't have time to prepare herself for that apparation back to her home.

Almost immediately when her feet touched the ground, she felt like she was going to throw up. So as one does when they feel this way, she ran to the bathroom and leaned over her toilet, preparing for anything.

"Are you alright Abella?"

Of course he came in right as it all started to come out of her. Everything she held down from the night before while being black out drunk, to then apparating right from the safe house, was now coming out of her.

It burned her throat and she felt as though she could start crying from embarrassment.

The wind was knocked out of her, first with the apparition and then from throwing up.

It felt as through there was no oxygen entering her lungs.

"Oh god-" Eden leaned her head on her right arm while her left arm reached up to flush the toilet. "Fuck my life. That was so disgusting..."

"You're feeling better then?"

'You're feeling better then'

Eden mocked him in her head.

Of course she was feeling better after releasing breakfast lunch and dinner all in one go. The thought of it just made her want to puke more, but there wasn't even anything left to let out.

"I'm fine Draco. Thanks for the bloody concern." Eden pushed past him and flopped down onto her bed, back facing upward and her face turning to the side to look out her window at the flashing lights of the cars driving late at night.

"Here."

In his hand was a cup of water, which he just conjured up out of thin air.

It still blew her mind the way he was powerful enough to do things like that. Only imagining how long and hard that must have been to learn hurt her head.

Nonetheless, at least she had a powerful wizard looking out for her.

"Thanks..."

As Eden took the cup from his hand and flipped onto her back, Draco pulled up a stool from the island in the kitchen and sat down right beside her bed.

"I had a dream of you."

"You did? I would ask for you to tell it to me, but it does not seem like you are in the talking mood at the current moment-"

She spoke over him, cutting his sentence short. "I told you off in it. You got mad at me for something I agreed to do. You said I'd regret it, but I woke up before you could tell me what you would do to me..."

Now that she was putting more thought into it, maybe the dream was a warning sign. Something that someone was trying to tell her.

Maybe Malfoy was really a bad person working for Voldemort. At any moment he could just kill her and although she was slowly beginning to trust him, it was hard to be sure he wouldn't turn and kill her out of no where.

That was ridiculous. Now she was actually paranoid.

"You were thinking of me weren't you Abella. I know you were... Why was that the case? Did Potter say anything about me? Try to bad mouth me?" Draco asked her with genuine curiosity in his voice. He was usually the type to know all of these things. The boy had eyes and ears everywhere.

"No! No, of course he didn't. He doesn't hate you as much as you think you know."

With a smirk he looked away from her and focused his eyes on his hands. He let out a small chuckle as he started, "You've avoided my question. Why was that the case?"

How the hell was she supposed to tell him she was thinking of him to make her stop herself from sleeping with Harry.

Eden thought she would have sounded insane!

Not only that, she wouldn't know how to explain it because she was still confused herself on how she felt about him or even why she thought about him of all people to think about.

"It's complicated and it doesn't matter."

"I suppose it does not... But it would be fun to know-"

"No Malfoy. Leave it be." The water from the cup was finished now. She placed the cup down onto the table and turned her back toward him, though the feeling of his eyes staring dead into her back was enough to make her shift uncomfortably and roll her eyes. "I need you to go-"

"No."

No?

Did he actually just tell her NO?

Who did he think he was.

"I want to stay."

"I'm glad that you're enjoying my presence, but it's late. Your father will ask for you will he not? You have other duties to attend. I'll be fine on my own."

Why was her mouth moving?

In her head she secretly wanted him to stay. It was nice having someone like him stay over. He felt like a security system, which Eden did not have.

But her lips...

Her lips were moving and the things that were coming out of her mouth were completely different from what she really wanted.

"My father does not care about my whereabouts. If I were dead in a ditch he probably still would not show any concern... But anyway, what duties do you think I need to attend?" The only duties he had were done on his own accord.

He did not care for anything else. No one ever dared to boss him around.

"Voldemort?"

"Why do you assume I'd be helping him plan your friends murder?"

"Because. You have never liked them. You still don't like them for that matter! And once he successfully kills them, you probably still won't have any ounce of respect for them."

That just went to show him how she really thought he was...

A cold, selfish, harmful man with no regard for anyone or anything but himself and his glorious life.

"Well if I have so much hatred for them, why don't I just tell them were that beat up house is? Why don't I hand you over to the Dark Lord so that Harry comes running after you and ends up getting himself and everyone else killed because of it. Riddle me that Eden."

There he went again!

He said her name!

Two times in one night? How scandalous...

Eden thought, but tried hard to push it away and focus on the conversation at hand.

"You have no faith in them do you?" Draco asked her.

Of course she did not.

None of them knew the first thing about fighting a war and Eden was guaranteed Harry would be on his 'We can't use dark magic to fight this war' bullshit like he was for everything else. If he were not like that, he could have gotten rid of Voldemort years ago.

"No I do have fai-"

"Don't lie."

"Okay so yeah, I think we're all going to end up dead in the next year or so. Harry's a wuss, Ron doesn't know the first thing about fighting and the only thing Ginny Weasley is good at is fucking other girls boyfriends. Fred and George are good fighters, but if they die we lose Ron, who'd go insane with grief. If we did successfully recruit other people, eventually Harry will go into a depression thinking he was the one who caused all this unnecessary death... If we did win, a miracle would need to occur." She let it all spill. The honesty was flowing out of her mouth. "And now I've just told you every single way the Death Eaters can win the war so if you're working with them and this is all a cover, I'll be the one at fault for costing us the war-"

"How many bloody times do I need to tell you! I'm not telling him anything. Why don't you trust me?"

"Because you've never been a person to trust!"

Ouch.

That hit him hard.

Immediately after the words left her mouth she felt bad about it.

Although he didn't let it showing his face or body language, the silence was enough to tell Eden that Draco felt hurt by what she said.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come off that rude-"

He didn't even let her finish before he started speaking again. "And you suppose you helping them will do what exactly? You won't be any help to them Abella. You'll get yourself killed like the rest of them!"

"I would rather die than live in this world without no one I love. None of my friends, no soulmate, no family of my own. I won't be happy here. So if they die, I die too-" Eden halted.

Loud bangs came from the door, one's of panic. They were strong. Sounded just like the way Draco knocked when he came to the safe house.

His eyes returned back to her seeing a confused Eden sitting upright on her bed after briefly looking at the door. "Are you expecting somebody?"

She ignored, standing from her bed and clutching her wand tightly in her palm. This wasn't the same as the way she felt at the safe house. This feeling was scarier.

At the safe house it was... Well it was safer, there were so many enchantments on that place from years and years ago, making the magic around it even stronger, but her apartment was a small little square with enchantments done by a Death Eater whom she trusted slightly, but didn't know well enough to actually put her trust fully into him.

Her hand wrapped around the doorknob and she pulled it open, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Pansy- Blimey you smell like smoke."

Draco quickly stood from the chair and walked just enough to be hiding from her view, but able to see Pansy through a mirror that hung on the wall. He hid because if she knew he was there, she might not say everything she needed to say to Eden. He was nosy.

"Eden I know you d-don't like me. And I know I've been the biggest bitch, but... But I have no where else to go."

"What happened to you?"

"He came. He came to my house. He tried to burn the place to the ground knowing I was in there. I think he got my parents too-" Pansy had tears in her eyes and faint voice cracks could be heard while she tried to hold all of her emotions in. "I think I'm in trouble. I just need a place to wash up. After that I'll be on my way."

Without the mention of his name, Eden still knew Pansy was speaking of Voldemort when she spoke.

Was it a good idea to give her a chance?

Like yeah, they bonded at a party, but was she really trustworthy or was she doing this as a task to get a Dark Mark.

Eden knew she was obsessed with getting one back at Hogwarts...

But if she really wanted to do something to hurt her, Pansy would have done it already and she did really seem distraught and tired.

"Don't be silly. You can stay the night. As many night's if you need." Trusting her would be better than leaving her out on her own and feeling the guilt of knowing Eden left her on her own, not knowing where to go or what to do and clearly not in the right state of mind.


	42. Memory 12

February, 1998

Draco came into the view of the girl, letting his presence finally be known. His hands were down by his sides, clenching in and out of fists while cracking his fingers each time awkwardly.

Instead of reacting the way he thought she would, Pansy ran inside wrapping her arms around one of her only friends. She had many people she spoke to, but none were ever close. Being popular was not the same as having a lot of close friends. Just people who were either jealous of you and wanted to be you or people who just wanted to know you for validation from others. 

Draco Malfoy was one of Pansy Parkinson's only friends.

But for some reason, he did not trust her...

Was it because she was known for doing this kind of thing, lying to get what she wanted?

If it was a lie, that was one really fucked up thing to lie about.

"Sorry. I needed a hug." She backed away and looked toward Eden.

It was now silent aside from the sounds of the rain picking up from a slight drizzle to a storm from outside the window.

"Um.. Here, I don't know if this will fit, but it's fine for the night. I have towels behind that black door, just take anyone and... The bathroom is on the left. Take your time." In Eden's hands were a few things for Pansy to put on. A sweatshirt, simple looking. It was just black. Along with that was a pair of grey sweatpants that she rarely ever wore anymore and on top of the pile was some socks. It tended to get pretty cold at night and unless Pansy wanted to wake up in the middle of the night with cold feet she would be thankful for the socks she was given.

Once Pansy was locked in the bathroom Draco immediately caught her wrist and grabbed her attention, letting go right after. "You're going to let her stay? She could be working for Voldemort... She could be trying to get her dark mark for all we know-"

"Do you think the idea has not crossed my mind? Of course I know what she could be doing, but leaving her out in the pouring rain with no home to hide in, no bed to sleep in and not a single piece of warm clothing with her would make me feel horrible. Plus do you think she just rolled around in smoke?"

"Yeah actually. Anyone can roll around in smoke and say their parents died." He rolled his eyes and started to pace back and forth as if he was making a plan in his head while looking down at his feet. "I'll stay too. Just in case anything does happen. She would probably hurt you, not me. So I'd be able to stop her."

"Be my guest. You've stayed plenty of other nights without my knowledge. Glad I get to be in on this one." Sarcasm dripped through her voice as she looked over at the clock on the wall. 

2:47 am.

It was still pretty early from what she thought.

"Also we're not done our discussion from earlier. If you want to go help Potter and the rest of your friends that's fine, but I'm coming." That was his one rule...

Oh god no. Was he insane?

Eden pursed her lips and laid back down on her bed, sitting upright on the stacked pillows in front of her bed frame. "No. No you're not coming. They hate you and you hate them-"

He shook his head and smirked. "Well it's a damn good thing I'll be there for YOU and not them Abella."

There was no way she was going to be able to talk him out of this one. He was set on coming. He even had that snarky little smirk on his face when he got his way and Eden knew better than to argue with him if he had already won.

"Fine then. Suit yourself. You'll be bored though. All I'm doing his helping with potions and reading papers."

"That's perfectly fine. I wasn't expecting a whole lot of fun anyway."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pansy's first night was fine. Nothing happened really. She didn't once look or act like she intended on causing Eden trouble, in fact, she slept right beside her with no problems. All she did was simply take a shower and hit the hay, though Eden couldn't sleep that night, whether it be because Pansy was sleeping over and she did not fully know the girl or because Draco's eyes were plastered on her the whole night from the couch.

It appeared, for the first 4 days of her stay, that both the girls enjoyed having each other around.

Eden didn't feel so lonely anymore and after Draco too decided to start trusting Pansy, he would leave at nights, come back during the days, but still.

The alone time they had was great. They got to really bond over things they liked doing, different boys they used to have crushes on before meeting their soulmates, even the Yule ball from their third and fourth year.

They got to tell each other stories and things from their pasts. It was great.

Eden was glad she put her trust in Pansy because by the 5th day of her visit, they were talking about moving in together.

Somewhere in Italy or Paris, far from all the commotion of the war. If they were long gone everyone would forget about them and they would be no longer valuable to any wizard or witch... Well at least that was the case for Pansy.

Eden would always be involved in this whether she ran away or not. Even if she died, Voldemort would still find a way to use her to his advantage after he killed off Harry.

Pansy moved out after her 6th night, she found a place somewhere isolated and away from all of the muggles, but it was Pansy Parkinson they were talking about, so it was very expected of her. After thanking Eden for everything she did, Pansy was off leaving Eden all on her own once again.

With everything going on with Pansy, Eden totally forgot about Hermione and how the two best friends were still fighting.

Not once did any of them try to reach out to one another, but Eden felt as though she had nothing to apologize for.

The same went for Hermione.

It was getting a bit late on a chill Wednesday night. Eden was to go to the safe house tomorrow to help with potion making. There she would probably meet Hermione. They would NEED to speak to one another if that were the case...

In order to clear her head, she decided a walk would be nice. Just around the block a few times. It was not too late just yet and there were many people out on the street when she glanced out of her window.

So she grabbed the coat Draco gave her which kept her super warm and headed out the door, down the steep flight of stairs and onto the street.

The fresh air hit her like a truck, but the oxygen filling her lungs felt so refreshing.

Her hair blowing past her shoulders, sending a cool gush of wind behind her neck sent chills up her back, giving her goosebumps all over.

It felt nice to finally be outside after days of being cooped up in that little space she owned.

Now to think about what she would say to Hermione...

That was what was distracting her.

That was the whole reason why she went on that walk to begin with. So she continued her train of thought, thinking up a way to greet her when she saw her. A simple hello would be fine. She didn't need anything else... Maybe a little smile would help too. At least then the girl would not think Eden was being hostile.

For a few minutes Eden was trapped in her own mind, walking the path by muscle memory rather than actually paying attention to where she was going, but as she did that, she failed to realize that the street she turned left on was completely isolated. No pedestrian in sight, but she was too trapped in her own thoughts until it was too late.

In between a technology repair store and a doctors office, Eden was pulled into the alleyway being slammed against the wall so hard she swore the bricks from the building cracked behind her.

It was too dark to make out who it was that had their hand squeeing her throat, but it didn't matter. Whoever it was was going to hurt her. She didn't care for the details by that point.

"Eden Abella right?"

It was hard to breathe and his grip was only getting tighter around her.

"S-Stop!" She tried to reach to her pocket for her wand, but realized it was not in there...

Of course it wasn't because why the fuck would it be when she was actually in need of it?!

While coughing and coughing, gasping for any air she could find, Eden was unable to do anything except dig her nails into the strong man's hand.

He was not budging. It was like he did not even feel the pain of her nails breaking through his skin and making him bleed.

"Do you think the Dark Lord would want you dead or alive? I suppose alive hmm? Too bad you won't have the same fate as Ginny Weasley..."

Eden's eyes went wide as he said her name.

Did he kill her?

If he killed her that meant he was at the safe house. That meant he was with Harry.

Was he dead too?

With the lack of oxygen getting to her lungs, she failed to realize the obvious. She could still see colour meaning Harry was alive and well, but with her struggling and now worried about Ginny's death, she couldn't string anything together.

She shut her eyes as everything was starting to go dark.

Don't give up.

Please don't pass out Eden.

You'll be in trouble if you do.

You might DIE if you do.

Eden no... Stop it.

She spoke to herself in her head. That was the only thing that was keeping her awake and in the moment.

Brace yourself... You're not going to make it Eden-

The thought stopped and the tight feeling in her chest was lifted.

All of the pressure he was putting on her neck was gone and all of the breath she lost was coming back to her.

The lightheadedness she felt made her fall to the ground after the loss of contact with the death eater whose intention was to kill her.

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER!" He shouted loudly and drew his wand. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Loud and clear.

Eden knew who it was, but she didn't look up. She didn't even move actually.

The girl needed a moment to get herself together before doing anything or looking at anyone.

The green light lit up the alleyway and the sounds of a shuffling and scared man were now gone.

Draco really killed him.

All for her... Or rather because of her.

"Hey, shhh. Relax Eden." He got onto his knee's beside her and held her in his arms.

Slowly, his fingers ran down her pale face, pushing her messy hair out of her way so that she could be less panicked while she tried to gather herself. "Relax..."

The coughing wouldn't stop and although she was breathing in all the oxygen she could get, it still felt like it was not enough. Her heart was racing so fast and her hands were shaking from all the fear she just felt moments ago.

"Can you breathe?"

Eden nodded her head and shut her eyes to avoid looking into his worried ones. She hated to see him worry for her. 

Or just worry at all. 

It didn't seem like him...

It was strange, but very much appreciated.

"I'll stay with you until you're better. I'll stay right here with you okay?"

Another nod.

He was so thankful that she was awake and responsive.

Draco's eyes trailed to the wall where she was pushed against.

A fucking dent in the bricks.

A DENT!

Eden was lucky she did not break her back from all of that force.

Poor girl was going to have a nasty bruise, not only on her back, but on her neck too. Any rougher and the Death Eater would have crushed her, which would have killed her instantly.

"I-I can't."

"You can. You can." He repeated to her as if it would make anything better. "Just close your eyes and focus on your breathing, not anything else." His thumb ran across her left cheekbone as he held her head in his hand, intertwining his other fingers with her curly hair.

It was hard and took her a few minutes, but she got herself composed once again.

Belly breathing.

She read about it when she was younger. When her parents died. It was in a book Narcissa gave her. It was something about coming to terms with loss, but the belly breathing part was somewhere in it.

Right after she caught her breath Draco apparated back to her place while still holding her in his arms, but picking her up and bringing her to the bed.

"Are you feeling better? What do you need me to do?" He asked her, looking into her eyes.

"Ginny- I need to see Ginny-"

"Woah woah-" Draco caught her once again, bringing her back down as she tried to spring up from the bed.

"He's said he's killed her. He said she's dead!"

"He only said that to get you scared Eden. She's not dead. She's alive and at the safe house-" He couldn't even get a sentence out before she was on her rampage again, squiring out of his grasp and standing up uneasily.

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" She was shaking, tears streaming down her face as she stared into his eyes.

Draco was in such shock of her sudden outburst that it took him a moment before he answered the girl sobbing in front of him. "Ginny Weasley is fine. I promise you. I am not lying."

The only reason why he was so certain was because if she were dead he would have surely heard about it.

Draco was with his father prior to saving Eden and his father was the first to know about everything that went on with the Dark Lord.

"I-I need to see her. I need to see her now!"

"Not in this state you're not. You're going to calm down before I take you to her. Sit." His hand patted the spot right beside him while he made eye contact with her.

His look was promising enough to get the girl to sit and try to contain herself, but whether it was because of the traumatic near death experience she had, or because she did not fully trust Malfoy, Eden could not calm. The tightening feeling in her chest only got tighter the longer she sat there and even with her hand pressed against her sternum, she was still a crying mess.

It was becoming too much for her. She needed to see Ginny immediately. She felt like if she did not this feeling would never leave.

"Shhh. Relax..." Draco suddenly wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. He had studied Eden well enough to know she was more likely to calm down if someone was there with her.  
Someone that would hold her and tell her everything would be fine. "I'm right here Eden. I'm right here. Look at me," His hand on her warm face distracted her from everything she was feeling, and only a few seconds later did she regain control of her breathing, then her tears until she had stopped completely, now just fearing that Ginny was really dead.

"Take me to her. Take me to her right now Draco please. Please..." She begged of him.

Her mind was still too clouded for her to apparate on her own, though if a clouded mind did not matter she would have gone as soon as Draco jumped in. Apparation took a lot of focus despite how easily Eden and many others made it look.

Draco stood from the bed, holding her small hand in his and took off with her.

They appeared right outside of the safe house.

The lights were all on.

It looked as though everything were fine.

"I told you, everything is alright Eden."

The girl took off for the door, throwing it open and leaving it that way for Draco to come inside.

"WHERE IS GINNY!" Eden shouted at the top of her lungs while walking down the slim hallway. Once she made it into the kitchen she locked eyes with the gingered hair girl, who looked frightened with the presence of the girl who's boyfriend she slept with. "Oh god! I'm so glad you're alright!"

It took Ginny by surprise. The giant hug Eden gave her and the way she seemed so relieved to see her alive. Not only was it surprising, but it was confusing.

Why did Eden think I was dead in the first place?

Ginny thought to herself while hugging the girl back tightly.

"What's happening here?" Harry ran in, thinking that Eden was already on top of the girl beating her to the ground. It sounded that way from the tone of her voice once she came in so she really could not blame him for thinking that.

"HARRY!" She exclaimed and ran across the kitchen, through the untucked chairs and into his arms. "Fuck I'm so glad you're safe!"

His arms felt comforting around her small body. The hateful touch of that Death Eaters hand around her throat made her feel disgusting, but Harry's touch was soothing... Though it felt the same as Draco's...

When he wrapped his arm around her at her flat. The way he could just easily make her calm down with his thumb caressing her cheek. Making all the bad wash away, knowing that he was there for her...

It felt the same as Harry used to.

"What? Why would I not be safe Eden?"

With the sudden impact of her hug he didn't even realized the harsh bruising on her neck. No one did actually. Up until that point only Draco knew.

"She was attacked by a Death Eater. He claimed to have killed Ginny-"

Harry let go of Eden, slightly pushing her and walked up to Draco in a threatening manner. His wand was drawn, the target was Malfoy's chest. "YOU LET THAT HAPPEN TO HER? YOU SAID YOU WOULD KEEP HER SAFE-"

"Harry-"

"NO EDEN! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HER-"

Suddenly, the tiny girl stepped between the two boys, pushing on Harry's chest in an attempt to get him to back off of Draco, whom did not seem to fear Harry although his wand was pointed straight at him.

It was probably because deep down inside he knew Harry would not do anything more than make him cough up a few slugs.

"HARRY! If it were not for him I would be dead. He helped me. Now would you put that bloody wand DOWN!"

His hand fell, now moving his gaze from the white haired boy to the brunette standing right in front of him. "God look at your neck." His finger grazed lightly upon her skin, tracing over the purple marks all around her throat.

"You know what that was Potter, don't you?" Draco asked him with a scarily serious tone. His lips were pressed into a thin straight line and his head was slightly tilted to the side. "You know what he was trying to do right?"

Eden did not have a moment to look around the room, but once she did she could see that everyone was now piling into the small kitchen after hearing all of the commotion they were causing.

"He's made the first attack Harry..." Fred stepped forward and grabbed Eden's sore shoulders while Draco continued on.

Harry gulped looking around at everyone in attendance. His eyes looked straight down to the floor and in a faint whisper, which could still be heard by everyone, he said, "Voldemort has started the war."


	43. Memory 13

March, 1998

The changes were drastic.

If anyone wanted to go out, they would be required to be with at least one person, as per the rules introduced by Professor Lupin.

Along with the one person rule, anyone in battle would need to cut their hair short or to at least shoulder length for the girls. He said it would prove to be in their best interest, though that rule basically only applied to the girls.

A curfew was set as well. 10 pm was the time that people who were not fighting were to be back at the safe house.

Oh and another thing.

Eden was forced to sell her apartment and move into the house with the rest of The Order... That's what they ended up calling themselves.

Harry was out almost every day and being cooped up in that house made it hard for her to see anyone aside from Hermione, whom she was sharing a room with.

Draco was no longer allowed inside of the safe house and with the one person rule, Eden could no longer see him on her own, though Hermione, in trying to prove her friendship and loyalty once again, would let the two speak outside for only a few minutes.

Their conversations usually consisted on how are you's and are you okay's.

Occasionally they would speak about Pansy, who missed Eden considerably a lot more than anyone would think.

Draco would always check on her bruises, which were going away over time and with the potions Hermione would supply her.

Sometimes he would bring her things like a chocolate chip bread from the little bakery down the street from her old apartment. He knew she appreciated when he did stuff like that.

Nights were boring.

A piano was their only source of entertainment. Fred and George would try to lighten up the mood with their little pranks, but there were only so much you could pull until everything started to become the same and people expected it.

Along with that, Eden never really got to see Harry much anymore. He was always out and even if it was not fighting in battle, he was out trying to find recruits...

He looked for people from the yearbook who he knew used to admire him.

Young and old. 

When he was home, he was either asleep or being healed.

Where the battle was was a damn mystery to Eden. 

No one was allowed to tell her because everyone knew if she knew she would go out there and try to fight with everyone else and as per Harry's request, the girl was to stay in the safe house.

That left her with nothing. She was alone all of the time seeing as Hermione was busy with potions and healing.

Ginny fought in battle and even if she did not enjoy her company as much as before, she still would have benefitted from having another girl with her.

Eden laid on her bed with her hands upon her stomach.

The hole growing in her belly had been there ever since the night she almost died. Any loud noise would scare her, even if it was only for a moment.

There was nothing to look forward too anymore.

They were at war after all.

Her attention was brought to the door where Hermione walked in, looking stressed out as ever.

None of them apologized to one another for the way they acted in the graveyard, though it was just a mutual thing. Without any apologies, they still knew they were sorry and had just chosen to overlook the situation.

"You've been locked up in here all day. Hasn't Malfoy tried to reach you? I know how much you enjoy his visits."

Eden's eyes trailed back up to the chipped wooden ceiling above her. "No... No he has not. It's been a few days. Do you think Voldemort has sent him out into the battle. Do you think he's dead-"

"Don't say things like that Eden. I'm sure he's fine. He's probably just busy-"

A few knocks from the door caused them to pause and look toward the door once again. "Eden, you have a visitor." Ron peeped his head in, smiling kindly at Hermione.

Quickly, Eden shot up from her position. "Is it Draco?"

"Um, no. Pansy Parkinson actually-"

The girl stood up fast, pushing past Ron and almost tumbling down the stairs as she ran for the door. She did not care for the two person rule.

She knew Pansy wouldn't do anything to her.

Not after she had the chance to for a whole week.

"Pansy!" Eden ran to her, wrapping her arms around her slim body.

Shortly after she ran out, Hermione came too, leaning against the door frame and watching the two girls hug while trying to catch her breath.

This came as a surprise to her...

Eden and Pansy?

Since when?

How?

"Draco told me everything you said. He's told me how much you miss me and I just couldn't stay away. I had to come see you!"

"How did you know where the safe house was? Did he tell you that too?" Eden asked her.

"Oh no! Of course not, he would never. I found out from Snape. You remember him don't you?"

A small chuckle escaped her lips as she nodded her head. "Kind of hard to forget. He used to cause Harry so much trouble."

Pansy's smile turned into a frown slowly as her eyes looked over the girls body.

It was sad.

Eden's ribs were sticking out slightly and they could be seen from the outline of her white shirt. Her jeans looked like they were too big for her and her completion... She just looked very sick. Her eyes looked tired, her eye bags were dark and even if she smiled, anyone could tell it was just a get up.

Pansy shook her head, looking back into her eyes and smiling softly. "You're okay right Eden..? It's just that you look a bit pale. Have you eaten today? I can bring you something if you'd like. Maybe some cooked pasta or a chicken? I'm good at cooking... I think."

The girl shook her head. "No no... But thank you though. I've actually just eaten. Had some coffee too."

"Alright then..."

"So tell me," Eden sat at the steps of the house, pushing aside some of the leaves from the bushes leading up the walkway. "Do you like where you have been staying? I'm sure it's beautiful up where you are. I heard it doesn't snow that much, though it's not like it snows much here either."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After about half an hour of speaking, Hermione grew tired of sitting at the open door. After a long day of working all she wanted was to lay down and read, not lean against a hard piece of wood awaiting her friend to come back inside. So she called Eden in, telling her it was time to go like a damn mother would say to her child.

Before she could go inside, Pansy grabbed her hand, placing a piece of paper in it and winking.

Very strange, but Eden walked inside, not letting Hermione see the letter that was passed onto her. If it was secret than it would be better if only she knew about it anyway.

The bathroom of the girls room was empty and while Hermione flopped down onto the bed, Eden locked herself inside, finally looking down at the ripped piece of parchment in her hand.

Meet me outside behind the tree across the street at 10:30

\- Malfoy

The signature looked real enough and at that point Eden did not care if it were a trap or not. Perhaps if it was her life would be exciting once again had that been the case.

The day passed quite slowly, Eden found herself exploring the unlocked rooms on the 6th floor. They were empty for the most part aside from a few old dusty boxes and would most likely be used as more bedrooms for more people. Perhaps even a new hospital wing. It appeared the one they had now was getting filled up fast.

Eden personally thought what they were in need of was a bigger safe house...

When 10 pm hit everyone was in bed, Hermione was fast asleep by 9 and once she was asleep Eden knew she could successfully make her escape.

Hermione was a deep sleeper.

Eden knew this from the man sleepovers they had where Harry and Ron would be screaming the whole night, yet she did not budge... Ever.

By 10:20 she was already outside, shutting the door quietly behind her, but he had the same idea. She could see his platinum hair sticking out from behind the branches, looking at her as she crossed the street and met him behind the large tree just like he asked her to.

"You've actually come."

"Of course I have. What else have I got to do? Sleep isn't really my thing anymore." She leaned against the tree with her hands behind her back.

Draco placed his hand on the trunk of the tree, beside her head and looked down at her, getting inside her mind to read her thoughts, though she just let it happen.

If it was painless she did not care for it.

"You're thinking of me..."

"Well of course I am, you're standing right in front of me." She smiled for a moment before it fell once again.

"No. You're thinking of me..."

She broke their eye contact making him lose the grip he had on her thoughts. "Why have you called me out here Draco?"

"You are miserable in there Eden. I'm taking you out for the night. You'll return later, but you are in serious need of a change of scenery. The way they have you living is not healthy for you at all. Can I see your neck?" The boy was basically checking her neck before she could say anything to him.

Tilting her head up and holding his wand up to it for light, he analyzed her carefully.

"They're almost gone- Why are you smiling?" His hands were pulled away and he stepped back and away from her.

"I like when you call me Eden that's all. Where do you plan on taking me?"

"A hotel. I have a room at the Savoy."

"Oh wow how kinky." Eden rose a brow and stopped leaning on the tree. Her hands were now clasped together in front of her and she held back a smirk.

"Oh I would never Abella. Stop that sarcasm or I won't take you at all."

The thought in his mind made him cringe on the outside... But Eden could only see what was on the outside...

"Grab my arm."

After grabbing his arm, they appeared in the room.

It had been so long since she'd been to a place like this. So elegant it was.

The room was quite spacious for one person, though he had the money for it so why not.

One bed, a tv, some clothes scattered on the couch of the living area. They looked to be Draco's.

"Have you been living here?"

"When I can't deal with my father, yeah... Yeah I do. I haven't been home for a week now. I only ever see him when I meet with the Dark Lord. Get comfortable... Watch some tv or something... I don't know. Do whatever you want, but don't leave. If you leave I'm never taking you here again got it?"

Eden nodded, placing her hand on the white sheet of the bed.

So soft.

So comfortable.

Her new 'comfortable' was an old blanket from a hidden closet they found. Barely even worked, but it was fine. Summer was coming anyway.

When pushing down on the mattress she realized how perfectly it would fit to a body.

God she missed her old bed.

"You can lay down. I know you want to."

Eden smiled to herself and laid down, stomach first on the bed.

Working the tv was not a problem for her. It was not like she had never done so in her whole life.

While flipping through channels, she landed on the news. Their main headlines were about a pipe that had burst, injuring, but not killing a family of 4. Their house was in ruins, but it was so creepy how the muggles had no idea what was going on in the world, so close to them. They were so clueless.

"That's so crazy." She blurted out.

From the living area, Draco folded clothes. Without even looking at her he replied, "What is?"

"They have no clue what's going on and in the end they'll be affected the most. Isn't that insane."

"Truly." The tone of not caring could be heard under his voice when he spoke. He didn't even try to hide it.

Eden found herself on a channel playing a rerun of old south park episodes. It was a marathon actually.

She'd heard of the show while on the phone with her family back in September. Her step brother Matteo was obsessed with it when it started airing, but she never got the chance to watch it, until now at least.

While she did that Malfoy was busy getting his things together. It wasn't like he was going anywhere, but being more organized would benefit him a lot. He hated messiness.

"You should chill out Draco. Don't you want a break too?"

He turned his whole body to face her, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "You know, you're doing a lot of talking for someone who should be relaxing right now."

Whatever he just said went in one ear and out the other. Her eyes were locked on his arm.

It was the first time she ever saw it clearly.

The Dark Mark.

Draco always covered it with long sleeve shirts, just like his father had.

Though his father did not do it for any particular reason. Draco on the other hand, did it because he was ashamed of it.

Who wouldn't be if they're a decent person.

Immediately realizing where her eyes were, he pulled the sleeve down, snapping her back into reality.

"I-I'm sorry. That was so rude of me."

"It was."

Now how the hell was she supposed to respond to an answer like that?

Eden looked away from him, trying to end the conversation then and there, but of course the boy would not let that happen. He walked over and sat on the bed beside her.

"You're curious... Here, look at it. You've already seen it anyway."

Knowing better than to pass up the offer to look at one up close, she grabbed his arm and sat up, leaning it on her lap.

It was black, had a skull with a snake coming out of it's mouth, running down his arm to right above his wrist.

"You don't have to hide it from me. You don't need to feel ashamed around me. I understand it's not your fault you have it-"

"But it is though. I was the one that killed Dumbledore. I have it because of my own actions. I did this to myself."

Unlike most people, Eden knew the story about his dark mark. Harry told her. But only her. No one else knew aside from those two— Obviously excluding the Death Eaters and Voldemort who also knew.

"No you did not. Voldemort was threatening you. Your family. You did it because you had to... I would have done the same thing for my family."

"I should have just let them die. My mother's gone anyway and as for my father, I couldn't care any less about what happens to him-" He spat, pulling his arm away from her and rolling his sleeve back down to cover the mark once again.

"You would have died too."

God... Like he didn't already know that Eden.

"Would have been better for everyone..." He stood again. His back was toward her and she looked down sadly at his response.

"I'm glad you're alive Draco. I know many others who would say the same."

Draco's head turned slightly, still not looking at her though. "Don't lie to make me feel better Abella. I don't need the pity and guilt from you. I have got it from many other's my whole life. You're not supposed to be like them. You're different."

"Different? How so?" Eden furrowed her eyebrows; eyes following him as he walked over to the curtain, pulling it open slightly and looking down at the lit up streets which could be seen for miles and miles. 

They were very high up.

"I like to have you around. I can tolerate you. You make everything seem like it is not so bad... I just feel like a have some responsibility over you. I always like to know where you are and what you're doing. I like to watch you when you don't know I am... I don't feel this way about anyone else Abella. Just you."

"Oh..." Her smile was hard to contain, but he was not looking anyway, so who cared if she let it out.

No.

Stop that. You cannot be smiling at that.

Oh but who cares! The faster you came to terms with you growing feelings for him the better it will be for you!

For christ's sake Eden you've pictured him while making out with Harry!

The two sides of her brain her fighting and for once she did agree with the that was telling her to live a little and let her feelings show through from behind the mask.

"Oh? That's all I get after that? After I have just openly admitted to stalking you and invading your privacy?" He turned, seeing her cheeks a light pink colour and her nails being chomped off as she stared at the sheets of the bed.

"It's not stalking if I knew and didn't do anything about it Draco. And it wasn't invading my privacy either." Her eyes met his as she stood from the bed and walked closer to him. "You were paranoid. You still are paranoid, but I like knowing you're watching and thinking of me. Makes me feel safe."

"Potter doesn't make you feel safe?"

"No. He's the one fucking this up for everyone. Won't even listen to what people need to say. He's saying no dark magic, but even Remus is encouraging it. He's too stubborn to make me feel protected."

Draco looked down and sighed, then turning his attention back outside to the city.

At the rate The Order was going, they were sure to all end up dead in the next 5 months. Somewhere between then they would make a royal fuck up and everyone would be killed off slowly until they were completely gone.

Voldemort will have won; he'll be in charge.

"Can I tell you something Eden."

"Anything."

"Don't trust Snape with everything. He's not a good guy. He works for both sides, but it would be better for you guys to keep certain things away from him. Like strategies and whatnot. But you... I don't want you near him." He was being so honest with her. It was nice.

"I'll stay away from him then..."


	44. Memory 14

March, 1998

The sun was shining through crack in the curtains, blinding Eden when she woke up.

Still half asleep, an arm around her torso startled her, but when she saw the rings around his finger she knew who was holding her so closely to their body.

The tv was still on, very low in volume though.

She wished she could stay like this forever, but when the girl began to really wake up she realized how much trouble she was going to be in once she got back.

The night was spent at the hotel, far, FAR, from where she was supposed to be that morning.

She was wearing her soft, black sweat pants and the white long sleeve quarter button up she was wearing the night before.

How the two of them ended up in this position was a mystery to her. The last thing she remembered was watching tv with him, but growing tired...

What she liked was the fact that he did not get into the covers with her, leaving a barrier between them.

If he had it wouldn't have been a huge problem, but it was nice how he knew what she'd be comfortable with.

Carefully, his arm was pulled off of her and down onto the empty space where she once laid asleep.

Draco looked very peaceful.

Kind of looked cute while he slept.

It looked like he was really calm, no problem in his mind, though when he woke up he would gain the look again. The one of stress and rage. It was the one he wore every single day.

On the bedside table was a notepad and a pen and the logical thing to do would be to write a letter, stating she had gone home and for him not to worry about her, signing her name at the bottom so he knew it was really her.

Knowing him he would still come by to make sure she was alright despite having a signed letter from her, but that was fine.

She could use the company.

Eden appeared outside of the safe house door right after pulling the paper from the pad and placing it on the bed beside Draco's hand.

It appeared that the house was still asleep.

No one was in the halls or the staircase. It all looked as though Eden would make it back inside before anyone had time to catch her... That was until she made it to her bedroom.

"You're coming in quite early aren't you Eden." Fred suddenly said making Eden gasp and put a hand to her chest.

"Jesus Fred you've scared me!" The door was shut behind her and she walked into the dark room. "What the hell are you doing in the dark? Where is Hermione?" Her hand went straight for the light switch where she flicked it on.

"She got called in earlier this morning, but when I came in to grab her I noticed your empty bed. I've waited all night for you. Where were you?"

"The Savoy-"

"What the fuck Eden?! How!" His bad cop act was dropped when the boy heard her say she had stayed the night at one of the most expensive hotels in London.

The problem of her being out at night wasn't even on his mind anymore.

"I met with someone, they took me there."

He tilted his head, giving a stare to his best friend. "You can say Draco's name. You only know one really rich person who would be able to stay there... When did you leave?"

"10:30 last night. I was supposed to come home, but I fell asleep. Didn't realize... Freddie please don't tell anyone. Please? I know I broke the rules, but I really needed it and-"

His finger went up in her face as he stood. "As long as I know when you're going for next time, I won't tell anyone."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Aren't you supposed to be fighting?"

"Schedule got changed. Today I have a day off. You wanna do something. I have alcohol."

Oh wow, such a big jump.

"It's a bit early for alcohol Fred don't you think." Eden placed her coat down on her dresser and ran a hand through her hair... It was then that she realized Draco had taken her hair out of her braids for her. How kind of him...

"What did you and Malfoy even do in that hotel? You guys didn't... You didn't-"

"NO FRED! GOD WHAT?! We just watched south park for a little! That's it! NOTHING else."

Well actually a lot more happened.

Malfoy basically confessed to actually caring for her and showed her his dark mark, allowing her to get close up and touch it and also spilled the beans on how Snape was not a person to trust. But Fred didn't need to know about that yet. Maybe at a meeting... Yeah, calling a meeting tonight would be the best place to tell everyone.

"Hermione left this for you. Said it was the last one you'll be taking... What is it for?" In Fred's hand was a small vile of the healing potion her friend made for her.

As she took it, she began to explain what it was. "It helps with the bruising. I think after this one it'll be gone for good."

"That's great to hear... So tell me more about the hotel. Was it nice?"

Eden flopped down onto the bed with a smile on her face. "Oh it was so nice Fred. Malfoy doesn't understand how lucky he is to have all that money laying around. It was so large! And the view... God the view was breathtaking, especially at night with all the lights from the city. It was so clean and new... Nothing like this place. I wish I could stay there every night... Though I don't suppose Malfoy will want me back there. I wasn't even supposed to spend the night. I just fell asleep and the next thing I knew the sun was shining through the window-"

A large crack rang throughout the whole house, making both Eden and Fred jump.

"What was that?" Eden asked, looking toward Fred.

"As if I know."

The two of them were down there in a matter of seconds, but were only met with the crowding of the rest of the house.

Was someone hurt?

What was so important that everyone was so concerned about?

That's when she heard it. A long and painful groan came from the kitchen and the only person she could place that voice to was Harry.

Eden pushed through everyone disregarding them and not even apologizing for bumping people's shoulders.

"Where is Eden!? I want to see Eden-"

"I'm right here." Her hand clasped onto his as she forced a smile on her face and looked into his teary eyes. He then let out another painful shout, squeezing her hand tightly.

Hermione's hands were so bloody. She was holding a towel up to his stomach, but it was proving to be very useless. "He's haemorrhaging!" She shouted, pulling the towel away and grabbing her wand. "I-I'm so sorry Harry!" The girl had tears streaming down her face as her hand reached deep inside of the wound, trying to find the blade that had been launched into his side.

"FUCK!" Harry's screams were ear piercing making everyone in the room flinch. Hermione's cries got worse and Eden could only imagine how much pain he was in.

Oh how much guilt Hermione would feel about causing it...

Harry's eyes locked with Eden's and with a little tug of her hand, he caught her attention again. "Look at me... Please?"

She was his distraction from all the pain.

"I GOT IT!" She ripped her hand out as fast as she could, holding the blade up briefly and then dropping it down onto a bowl of hot water to get it disinfected for later examination. That would probably be where Snape came in handy. He was good at diagnosing curses.

What Eden was more shocked at was that Hermione grabbed it with her bare hand, knowing anything could have happened to her. Perhaps it was from all of the panic she was feeling. She put herself in danger to make Harry better.

After the blade was out, stitching would be easy, though Eden doubted Harry was comfortable laying on the long wooden table where they ate dinner every night in the condition he was in.

"Eden... Malfoy did this. Draco did this to me." He told her as Hermione stitched him up.

"W-what? No he didn't... He's not even fighting-"

"He did this to me! I am not lying!" Harry exclaimed, making it clear that he was indeed telling her the truth.

That was impossible.

He was at the hotel... Unless he faked being asleep...

Unless it wasn't him at all.

No. That could not have been true.

Draco wouldn't do that...

Deep down inside Eden knew the ugly truth. Harry was not one to lie and Draco would be the kind to try and kill Harry. But she wanted so badly for it not to be true.

He always claimed he cared for her and wanted to protect her, but by trying to kill Harry he would do none of those things...

This was all too much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day was calmer. Eden spent most of it with Harry up in his room, reading him the Daily Prophet or books he requested. Harry always liked listening to her read.

After 7pm Eden was kicked out as per the orders of Madam Pomfrey, who also lived and served for The Order.

Harry was to be well rested and if Eden were there with him, he would not be able to do that successfully.

By 8 everyone was up in their rooms, no dinner in the kitchen, no social interaction, just hard work.

Hermione came in at 9:18pm. Asked for a back massage, which Eden was happy to give to her. It was the least she could do since she could not help them directly.

"How much longer do you think this is going to go on until we all die? I say 3 months." Hermione mumbled out as Eden's hands kneaded into her back harshly, but in a way that felt good for the girl beneath her. "Ron thinks 1 more..." Opening her eyes, she could see Eden was not entertained in the topic of discussion.

After Harry said it was Malfoy who struck him, she hadn't really been attentive in anything actually. "I'm sorry about Draco. I know you actually liked him... For some odd reason-"

"Are we sure it was him Hermione? You've gotten finger prints from the blade... The handle of the dagger? It's all him?"

"Yes... We handed it over to Snape. He told Tonks that it was all Malfoy. Even the curse casted was by his wand."

This absolutely sucked.

No more expensive treats like a night at The Savoy.

No more alliance.

All the trust was broken...

An aching feeling in Eden's stomach was starting to get to her as she placed her hand over her belly and stopped massaging Hermione's tense back.

"What makes it worse is that he knows everything. He'll go telling Voldemort everything. You know the way he is don't you?" Hermione twisted her torso and her eyes followed Eden to the window where she looked down onto the muggle street.

"He won't- He won't do that." Why was she even trying to defend him anymore? It was pointless.

Right when the girl was looking away from the window, a small flash of white caught her attention.

Eden looked back out at the street.

There he was.

Staring right at her from across the street and behind the tree was Draco Malfoy. The same place he waited for her those few days ago. His look was demanding. It was like a 'we need to speak immediately' kind of look.

What the hell was he doing so close after what he did to Harry?

If they caught him here he would have been as good as dead. There was an anti-curse charm put on the area of the safe house. Nothing would work in his defence.

"I'm going to go get some water... Do you want anything? I can bring you up some warm milk? It'll make you feel better."

"No that's fine Eden. I'm going to go to sleep now anyway... Goodnight."

Yeah yeah... Goodnight to you too Hermione.

Eden snuck out the front door, making sure to be as quiet as a mouse. Any wrong move and anyone could have heard her leave.

"You tried to kill him?!"

If the squeaky door didn't get her caught, her screams definitely would.

"You tried to KILL HIM?!"

The sound of her voice cracking made him cringe internally, just knowing that tears were threatening to spill.

"WE TRUSTED YOU AND YOU DID THIS?!"

"War comes with betrayal's Abella. You should know this-"

"I can't even look at you... I CAN'T-" All of her pent up anger was being released onto him right then and there. Everything from the past few months was all unfolding. "I CAN'T LOOK AT YOU!"

The boy didn't even try to stop her powerful smacks and slams on his chest. "Eden stop."

"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HIM-"

Roughly, he grabbed both of her wrists, pulling her closer to him. "STOP!" He yelled in anger.

Eden didn't understand.

She probably never would.

Why he did what he did.

It was only a matter of her listening or at least trying to understand what happened when it all unfolded.

Draco didn't do this to hurt her or anyone, but she would not give him the chance to explain that.

"Let me explain. Please Eden... Let me take you somewhere to explain everything."

The silent girl was ready to break free from his grasp and slap him right across the face at how selfish he was acting, but it started to dawn on her that handling this the way she wanted— though it would give her satisfaction— was not the correct way to solve the problem.

Her eyes locked on his watch. "I have to be back by 10."

That was only half an hour, though half an hour was better than nothing. If he couldn't explain it to her all now, he could at least get the main point across. Then it would be up to her if she forgave him or not.

In a few seconds they were back in the all to familiar hotel room which seemed to be messier than the first time she was there.

The bed was not made, clothes were scattered everywhere... Never in her life did Eden Abella expect to see Draco Malfoy so disorganized.

"I'm not saying I didn't do it... I did. I threw the dagger at him with the intent of hurting him... But I did not have a choice Abella. I know you hate me, but you need to try and understand." The poor boys eyes were wide in fear of what she was going to say next.

His heart was beating 10,000 beats per minute, or at least that's what it felt like to him.

This was the first time Eden had seen him so fearful... And it was all because of her.

The silence and eye contact was enough to give Draco an okay to continue on. "I had no choice in the matter. I rarely ever do Eden. If the Dark Lord asks me to do something I am expected to do it. I'm not part of The Order. In the end I am and always will be a Death Eater... In this case he asked me to kill Harry... Do you think I would do this purposely? Out of no where?"

"I sat in that bloody house and defended your name for two days. They all think I'm crazy for it! Do you understand how much you fucked this up?! They're never going to trust you again Draco! They think you're a horrible person-"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THEN EDEN! God! I only care about you! Do you think I'm a horrible person?"

As much as she wanted to say yes, as much as she hated him in that moment, the words that came out of her mouth were nothing close to what she was thinking in her head. "NO! That is the problem! I don't think you're a horrible person. I don't think you're evil and I can't even stay mad at you for this. I knew something like this would happen eventually with you being so close to the Dark Lord, but I just didn't want it to be true. I'm hurt!"

"There's nothing I could have done! If I didn't do it, it would have been me with that dagger in my chest and unlike Harry, I have NO ONE! No one Eden! I would have died a slow painful death alone on the floor of my father mansion. I would have died thinking of ways I could have done better. Things I wish I told people. Things I wish I told you."

Eden shut her eyes and held back the tears. When she was nervous she always cried. The feeling of her bones rattling from inside of her body, the feeling of the pit growing in her stomach, also forming in her chest and throat.

A panic attack was on the rise. She could feel it hiding in the deepest part of her brain, but she was doing a pretty good job at holding it inside her, rather than letting go right in front of him.

"What more could I have done Eden?!" His shouting was beginning to really get under her skin. For the first time his words were actually making her want to leave... Making her want to cry. He was really intimidating her now.

"I just... I just...."

Spit it out.. Just say what you really feel.

"I'm just scared..." The string was cut. The tears were rushing down her cheeks and she was completely gone. There wasn't even a point in trying to gather herself again. "I'm scared because... Because we're not in control anymore. You were FORCED into attempting to kill him. If he can force you to do that than he'll force you to do more... Harry's close kiss with death had hit me with the hard reality. Everyone is going to die. I don't want to die yet..."

For the first time in her whole life Eden could see tears streaming down his cheeks.

The emotionless boy she thought he was, really wasn't.

Draco pushed his hair back and rubbed his bottom lip roughly. "I'll never let him touch you. Y-You aren't going to die-"

"You can't promise me that Draco. I've accepted my fate... I'm preparing now. When the time comes I'll be ready... Until then I don't think I should see you." Wow. That was one hard pill to swallow, not only for Draco, but for Eden too. "We both know it will be better if we retreat to our sides... You go with Voldemort and I'll go with The Order. That's the way it should have been from the beginning. You should have never helped us. You should have never cared for me. If you didn't, none of this would be happening. I would be dead and you would be fighting for the unnecessary deaths of muggle-born wizards. This should have never happened. I'm sorry you've been dragged into this mess, but it's time for me to go..."


	45. Memory 15

March, 1998

Draco grabbed her small hand, pulling her back to him as she tried to get far enough away to apparate back to the safe house, where she would then never speak to him again.

"Don't do this... You don't want this!"

"OF COURSE I DON'T! You're the only good part of my days! I only look forward to speaking with you! I don't care about anyone else anymore-"

Suddenly, while staring down into her glossy eyes, something came over Draco. He let go of her hand, instead wrapping his arms around her torso while pulling the girl against him and leaning down until their lips were interlocked.

He shut his eyes, hoping and praying that she did not pull away from him.

Eden's eyes shut right away and her hands grabbed hold of his face. Her lips began to move with his. It felt like she was ready for this. Like she had thought about it happening.

From the lack of resistance, Draco knew for sure she'd given thought to the idea of them in a closer manner like they were right now.

"Please don't do this Eden. I won't let you. I won't let you leave here until you promise me you're not going to abandon me the way everyone else has! You are all I have left! You're the only person I want to protect and care for. Promise me." Draco's hands went running up her back, over the fabric which was separating his touch from being on her bare back, and then up to her arms, comfortingly rubbing them with his thumb's.

Her eyes narrowed toward the window, looking out at the view of the shining lights from the city late at night.

The way Draco felt about her, the way he held her, watched her, protected her... No one ever did this for her. No one has ever cared this much. 

Not even Harry.

Draco's only thoughts were about her, all of the time. Even when he tried to hide it, she knew he cared.

All these months...

All this time...

He was doing all of this because he wanted to. He did it because he would sleep better at night knowing she was safe. He did it because he wanted to keep her happy and even now that her world was falling apart right in front of her. He was still the light at the end of her tunnel.

It was never Harry...

It was Draco.

"I won't abandon you Draco... I promise I'll never abandon you. I'll never leave you-"

His lips pressed against her's once again, almost lifting her off of the floor while he embraced her in his large, warm, comforting arms.

What this meant for them was a mystery to the two, but what they knew in that moment was that they finally got it off their chests.

They loved each other.

That was why they would do anything for one another.

That's why they would die for each other...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You'll meet me out here tomorrow? Right?" Draco asked while holding her waist gently. They stood behind the tree across the street, hiding behind the darkness so that no one saw them from the windows of the house. Draco's jacket hood was pulled up to hide his bright hair.

"I'll meet you here tomorrow... Goodnight." She smiled slightly.

Her eyes were still puffy and red from the tears, lips still swollen from the kisses and feelings way better than when she left the house. And to think they were standing there just half an hour ago as she shouted and went on about how upset and angry she was with him. Oh where the night led them to would shock everyone... But no one could know.

Absolutely no one.

What made her the happiest was what she needed to keep secret from the people who claimed they cared about her...

They were stubborn.

They wouldn't even try to understand why Draco did what he did.

They were stuck in the mentality that they were right and there was no other option...

Eden hated that.

When she stepped inside she went straight to her room, taking a shower and getting into bed right after.

This was the first time in several months that she felt truly happy the way she did now and the excitement was killing her! Sleep wasn't even an option at that point. For most of the night she just laid there, staring at the cloudy sky from her bed. Then she fell asleep somewhere in between because when she woke up, it was to Fred jumping up and down on her bed.

"It's 2 pm Eden! Wake up sleepy head! Wake up!" He shouted in her ears.

That sure was one way to wake her up.

"Wake up! I'm so bored!"

"Fred... Nooo-" She was still too tired to be awake then. Another hour would have been greatly appreciated, but as if Fred would let that happen now that he was already jumping on the bed and pushing her around.

"Up you get. You have not eaten breakfast and I will not be letting you skip out on lunch too. You need some food in your system and cold water to get you started for the day. Now get up!" From the side of her bed, Fred pulled her arm until she was sitting upright and rubbing her eyes with her hands.

They still stung from last nights little cry attack meaning they were still puffy and red too.

"LET'S GO!"

His shouting was enough to get her out of bed and after quickly getting ready by throwing a hoodie and jeans on, she took off downstairs with Fred, who waited outside of her door to make sure she did not just fall back asleep once he left her to her privacy.

Downstairs the table was filled with food spanning from one end to the other. People were sat all around it. For starters, Ginny, George, Luna, Dean, Angelina... A couple more girls sat. All healers.

They were probably sent off for a lunch break by Madam Pomfrey. She had a habit of doing that, then when duty called she was left with only 1 or 2 girls helping her in the room.

"Good morning Eden... You have a good night sleep?" Luna's soothing high pitched voice got her attention.

She smiled and took a seat next to the girl, grabbing a scoop of mashed potatoes from a dish right in front of them. Along with plain pieces of bread, Eden loved potatoes. One of her favourite things to eat in a meal like this. "Yes I did... And how about you? Did you sleep well?"

"Oh I slept wonderfully. Thank you for asking... Say, your eyes look a little puffy. Have you been crying?"

Of course she would notice... It was Luna, though Eden knew she was just asking to look out for her, not to pry into her business or embarrass her.

"Oh no... No I haven't been crying. This time of year always has my allergies acting up. My eyes get really teary. You know?"

"Of course, of course. Is that all you're going to eat? I can pass you some of the meat if you'd like-"

Eden shook her head and forced a smile on her pursed lips. "Thank you Luna, but I am fine. I'm not really that hungry anyway. Just need a little something to get me going."

Luna nodded her head understandingly, but from the new vibe she was giving off, Eden was sure the girl was starting become aware of her eating habits.

It really was not Eden's fault. The thought of food entering her stomach made her sick. Anything she ate she wanted to throw up straight after. It was because of the stress and nerves. They were only building on as time went by.

The day was shorter— obviously since she slept for most of it— and Fred was called off to the battle mid day leaving her on her own.

Harry was resting with a no visitors order and Hermione was hard at work.

That was all she did.

Work work work.

Poor girl would always overwork herself. Eden hated seeing her friend in such pain...

But it always got her thinking. Did anyone notice the change in Eden? Aside from Pansy, who commented about the way she was looking when she was here last.

Did anyone even care?

It wasn't really their responsibility was it.

Upon returning to her room, Eden was planning on spending the rest of the day in bed, reading the Daily Prophet seeing as it was her only source of knowing what was happening in the war. Speaking about it in the safe house was a huge no. It was called a 'safe house' for a reason, it was supposed to make you feel safe... At least that's what the adults thought.

"Eden Abella. Welcome back... I've been waiting for you here."

The deep voice caught her off guard.

"Professor Lupin... I'm terribly sorry! If I knew you were waiting I would have come back a lot sooner-"

He chuckled and shook his head, standing from the small stool in the corner of the room where the girls usually kept their dirty laundry. "No need for apologies. And you may call me Remus. That would be more fitting, we're no longer at Hogwarts are we?" His smiled was contagious, latching onto Eden and pulling the corners of her lips up. "I wanted to have a discussion with you... More specifically who you surround yourself with-"

No...

"-Draco Malfoy-"

For fucks sake.

"-I know you've been sneaking out to see him-"

Could this day get any worse.

The smile on her face faded and turned to one of panic, but really, what was he going to do as a punishment? Lock her in her room?

"H-How do you know?"

"I am the one in charge here. Do you think I don't know whoever leaves and enters the charm around this place? Every spell that is cast in here, in this house, this room, even outside, I am aware of." His expression changed watching as she sat down on the bed frightened by his words. The smile was wiped. Now his lips were pressed into a thin line.

Eden gulped, looking down at her torn and beaten shoes. "How come you have not stopped me then. For starters, Harry made it clear I was to have someone with me at all times. I have broken the curfew multiple times in the past weeks, hell I've even stayed at a hotel for a night. For all anyone could know, Malfoy could be a danger to us-"

"If he were a danger to us I doubt you would continue visiting him..." She turned her head to face the man leaning on the pole of the bed frame. "I know him too Eden. I know the boy he is and what he is capable of, but I also know that he is not evil. He cares about you does he not? He's been watching you for months."

How did he know all of this?

"Don't look so surprised, Harry told Tonks and I everything when you first arrived. He told us to expect Malfoy coming around here often. Though to me it just sounded like he were jealous of him. Is he someone you care about Eden? Does he make you feel special?"

Yes. 100% he did.

The way he looked at her, the way he held her, even before last night. The signs were all there from the beginning.

There was no point in lying. Remus knew of her little adventures to The Savoy.

He knew everything.

"He cried in front of me... I don't think he does that with other people very often. He told me his side of the story. About what happened to Harry. I just- I don't want to talk about it."

His eyes looked at her blank face, waiting for any reaction, but nothing was showing through. That was until he looked at her eyes. That was her weak point.

The light was reflecting on her eye and that was when he knew she was about to cry.

"Do you feel bad for him?"

"Yes..." Her hand swiped her cheek, removing the falling tear with it. "Yes I do feel bad for him. He doesn't have a choice. He can't say no because if he does he'll- He'll be badly hurt or even killed."

"You love him then? It makes sense Eden. There is no need to lie. I won't tell anyone what you tell me."

Why was he so damn good at being a father figure to her. Hell, anyone he spoke with would have gladly said the same thing.

"Harry's my soulmat-"

"We're not speaking about Harry right now. I know he's your soulmate, but soulmates split very, VERY, often. Do you love Draco Malfoy?"

Hermione strode into the room, just hearing the last part of Remus' sentence and while staring with furrowed eyebrows, she cleared her throat and continued into the room pretending she did not hear anything at all. "My apologies. I should have knocked before I came in."

This was going to be a big mess Eden would need to clean up now. Hermione would surely ignore anything she had to say. She did not care. If her mind was set on a person, it did not tend to change.

"The apologies are all mine. We should have taken this conversation to a more private place... Have a great night you two. Eden, if you need me you know where my study is. I'm almost always in there. Come and visit me soon will you?"

With the slight nod of her head, Remus was out the door leaving the two girls alone in the bedroom just like every other evening.

"Why was he asking you if you love Draco Malfoy? Did you do something? Did you talk to him?"

Already with the fucking questions!

Did Hermione ever quit? Even after a long day of working she still found the energy to bombard her with nonsense that did not even concern her!

"Bloody hell Hermione it's not that important. We were speaking alone for a reason-"

"I cannot believe you Eden! You've spoken with him! After everything he has done! AFTER HE ALMOST KILLED HARRY?!"

"I DON'T NEED YOU SCREAMING AT ME HERMIONE! THAT IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT HIM. THAT'S NOT GOING TO STOP ME FROM EVER SPEAKING WITH HIM-"

Hermione began to throw her books and bag onto the floor while watching Eden scream back in response. "DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW DANGEROUS HE IS?! HE DOESN'T LOVE YOU! DON'T BE AN IDIOT. I KNOW YOU ARE NOT! HE'S ONLY TRYING TO GET IN YOUR PANTS BECAUSE HE NEEDS INTEL. HE NEEDS A WAY IN AND YOU'RE THE WEAKEST FUCKING LINK!"

Hermione's words were cutting through Eden like a freshly sharpened knife, leaving a stinging pain with each jab at her. "No... NO! YOU DON'T GET TO DO THAT. I'M ONLY THE WEAKEST LINK BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE TOO SCARED TO LET ME DO ANYTHING USEFUL."

"BECAUSE YOU'RE USELESS EDEN! YOU'RE FUCKING USELESS! YOU CAN'T HANDLE THIS KIND OF FIGHT-"

That was when she had enough. "Well if I am the weakest link I suppose you don't need me taking up this space? Taking your precious food, using up your water and materials. I suppose with your foul attitude, rooming by yourself would prove to benefit you."

"YOU'RE BEING SELFISH RIGHT NOW!"

"Oh am I?! AM I BEING SELFISH?! Well it shouldn't matter anymore because I'm out! I'm leaving! That is what you want isn't it!? To finally be alone in here? The boys little hero? Well here's a reality check for you Hermione. YOU'RE JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE IN HERE. HELL YOU'RE CALLING ME SELFISH?!" Eden laughed while looking the girl dead in the eye and stepping closer, taking her time while walking across the wooden floor. "You only ever do things if they benefit you! You're only a healer because you're a fucking PUSSY which again, is VERY selfish of you seeing as you're a very strong fighter and they could use you... Sure I am in love with a Death Eater and SURE, I've been sneaking out to meet him, but up until now that is the ONLY thing that I have done for myself!"

Eden's head whipped to the side suddenly and a small sting ran through her cheek, out toward her eye and then disappearing completely.

Hermione was in utter shock by what she just did and pulled her hand back immediately.

"E-Ede-"

Eden's shaking hand shot up to stop the girl from speaking. "You can save it for when YOU tell Harry why I am gone and what YOU did to let that happen. You thought this war was what is going to kill you? I can guarantee that the guilt inside of you when I wound up dead and delivered in a bloody box will eat you up!"

Grabbing a bag from the floor, Eden threw all of the clothes from her side of the dresser into it, filling it right to the brim. That was basically all she had here.

"Where are you even going to go?!" Hermione shouted as the girl shoved her shoulder and walked out of the room after throwing the door wide open and making it hit the wall. Probably denting it in the process.

As she walked down the staircase. Harry stepped out in front of her, grabbing her shoulders lightly to slow her down and try to keep her in place, but she was not in the mood for this. With Hermione chasing her down the stairs, Eden just wanted to get out of there, even if she had no where to go yet.

"Woah woah! Eden where are you going? EDEN!" Harry shouted, now also following her down the absurd amount of stairs.

"I'm the weakest link, so ASK HERMIONE!" Eden yelled behind gritted teeth.

Once she was outside and far enough to be able to apparate, she did, leaving the safe house for good.

There was no turning back now.

Not after everything she said to Hermione.

Not after shouting at Harry and causing a big ruckus.

Gosh! This was going to cause so much stress to him...

Maybe it was a lesson for all of them.

They were not meant to be friends.

Eden was just a liability to them.

ALL of them.


	46. Memory 16

March, 1998

There she stood, right next to the grave of Florence Abella. Her own mother.

She always found herself here in these situations... When she wanted to disappear forever.

"Mother..." Tears spilled from Eden's eyes as she fell to her knees and put one hand on the stone, the other on her chest right beside her fast beating heart.

Everything fell from her grasp. Her bag almost spilled all of the clothing inside.

"I-I'm such a h-horrible person..."

Chest tight.

Eyes blurred and burning.

Voice raspy and cracking with every sharp inhale.

It was uncontrollable at that point. She couldn't stop herself. The sobs were ripping through her and there was nothing she could do about it.

"They hate me. God I'm so useless!" Her hands balled up into fists and she suddenly started banging her right fist onto her knees extremely hard. Hard enough to leave a mark or bruise. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry I couldn't be better. I'm sorry this is the way I have turned out.. You deserve a better daughter."

Would this feeling ever stop? 

In the moment it felt like it would go on forever, eating at her until she had no more tears left to cry and no more breaths left to take.

"I'm such a fuck up. I'm sorry... I'm sorry-"

Hermione was right. 

You are the weakest link.

Just look at you now, crying over your mother's grave after a little argument where you were most likely in the wrong anyway. She was right about you being selfish and stupid. She was right about everything.

That slap in the face was deserved.

The intrusive thought was beginning to roll in now. The one she always thought when she was in this kind of argument...

Kill yourself to make her feel bad. She deserves the guilt and pain of knowing she was the reason you're gone.

The thought kept repeating in her head as she tried to catch her breath, but nothing worked.

Nothing was helping.

Her mind was going completely blank and now the only thing in it were the thoughts of her offing herself to make a point or the ones of her breaking her bones or digging a knife into her leg just to feel the pain she knew she merited.

With her cries and the ringing in her ears because of it, she failed to realize someone else was there, calling her name repeatedly but getting no response out of her.

They placed their hand on her shoulder, making her gasp and turn around, falling further and placing her hands on the ground to keep her up.

"What's happened to you Eden. What's wrong? Tell me."

"I-I can't-"

"Breathe Abella."

His voice was calming. It brought her focus to him.

The boy knelt down onto the ground right in front of her. "Can you breathe?"

She shook her head and gripped onto his upper arms using him as a support while his hands went for the sides of her torso in order to keep her upright. "N-No."

"Alright... Just relax. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere."

"Draco-" Eden shook her head and got balanced on her knees. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and cried into his chest with the comfort of his arms wrapped around her tiny self. "Draco I can't-"

Slowly, his hand began to caress her hair, running it up and down her back. "Shh. I know. Shhh. It's fine. You're fine... Look at me." He grabbed her face, tilting it upward with one hand while the other was still wrapped around her body. "You're going to be okay."

Eden shut her eyes and let herself settle into his warm hand.

Slowly but surely, she began to get hold of herself, calming her breathing, then her tears right after. Still shaking, she looked back into his concerned eyes.

Draco's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, but he let her take her time.

Eden would tell him what happened when she was ready. Forcing it out of her right now would make her worse.

"Come with me Eden. Come with me to the room. I'll take care of you-"

"I can't go back to the safe house... Like ever. God-" She put her hands on her face and stood, backing away from Draco and her mothers grave. "They all hate me. I have no where to go-"

"You're coming with me. You'll stay with me. You have somewhere to go Eden."

The girl get denying and turning down the offer. She always did when people were overly kind to her, but Draco would not take no for an answer. He was not going to leave the girl he wanted to protect out in a graveyard where she would most likely die of either hypothermia or a Death Eater.

When they appeared in the room the sun was just going down.

What a perfect view from the window.

It was falling right behind the buildings, shining bright rays into the room. It was across from them after all.

Eden locked herself in the bathroom right after arriving. For a whole hour she was in there doing god knows what. Draco was left in the dark about it, laying on the bed and staring at the very short hall where the bathroom door was. He could see it through the mirror on the closet he didn't use.

He really should have.

It would have been much more efficient than throwing his clothes all over the floor and huffing and puffing when he was to pick them up and clean them.

By the time the girl left the bathroom the sun was down completely and looking at the clock she realized it was somewhere between 7 and 8 o'clock. She'd been in that damn bathroom for nearly an hour and a half...

Eden didn't realize when she was in there. She just needed a second to breathe.

Draco's head whipped to the side once he saw her walking out the door and when Eden walked down the hall, stopping at the door, silence took over as the two were staring at each other, waiting for the other to say anything.

"Are you alright Eden?" Reaching over to the side of the bed, he grabbed the tv remote and muted it completely. "You seem better."

"I'm not." She blurted out.

"Come over here." He told her, moving his eyes from her to the empty space right in front of him. "Come sit."

"Hermione and I got in a fight," She began as she sat in front of him, crossing her legs and leaning over them, holding her head up with her hands. Her elbows rested on her knee's and she could not even make eye contact with him. "Remus knew about us and how I was leaving to come here. He knew by the way I was defending you that I still cared even after you did what you did to Harry... Hermione walked in right when he was asking me something about you. That's when she knew too. She started yelling at me. She called me the weakest link and said I was useless. She said I was being selfish for doing what I'm doing, coming to see you. Usually I wouldn't say anything about it. I never do, I find it easier if I don't argue-"

How surprising.

Draco thought to himself sarcastically while listening to her speak.

"-So I called her out on everything... Literally everything she does. I told her how selfish she was for not fighting in the battle like a coward. I told her she was just like everyone else in that house. That she was not anyone special or important. I literally told her my dead body was going to be shipped to the house when I die so that everyone could see what she did. I'm so evil. I've never been more ashamed of myself."

Wow.

The girl really did stand up for herself.

"You shouldn't feel that way Eden. She started it. She went after you. You were just returning the favour. You did nothing wrong and you shouldn't be beating yourself up this badly about it."

Eden shook her head and turned to the side, laying flat on her back across the end of the bed. "It's not even my fault I can't be helpful. Harry has given strict orders to not let me do anything! And even if I were to get past Harry, you would step in. You wouldn't let me do anything either."

"You've got that right..."

Eden smiled slightly and turned her head to look at him. The mood switched in him and the honest truth began to pour from his mouth.

"I don't like seeing you so upset like that. It scares me. I'm afraid you'll do something to hurt yourself. I listened in after you wouldn't answer me. We caught eyes but you didn't notice. I know what you were thinking about doing to hurt Granger. I don't like to see you put that much stress on yourself. Two nights now you've been crying and upset. I don't want to see you like that ever again. I'll always be here for you. No matter what."

A rose red started to heat up on her cheeks and the smiled on her face faded, but not because she was upset. Rather because she was analyzing him. Draco was so open with her. She doubted anyone else got to see him in the way she did. That was why everyone at the safe house was so set on not forgiving him.

His eyes faltered and he looked away.

Eden's stare was becoming too intimidating for him to compete.

Laying down was no good when she was trying to show him she liked what he said. So she sat up, sliding her hand over to his face and hesitantly caressing his cheek with her thumb ever so lightly.

Before any words could leave her mouth, he intertwined his left hand with her hair and pulled her in closer to his lips. The sudden action caused her breath to hitch and her eyes to fall away from his.

"I know you will." Eden answered him finally. The silence was killing him until then.

By the way she was staring at his lips, he knew she wanted to kiss him too. He was not the only one feeling like this. He didn't need to read her mind in order to figure that one out.

"I'm going to kiss you..." She looked up at him quickly.

The boy slightly smiled at her words. "Go ahead Abella."

Right away, Eden leaned in, hand slowly slipping away from his face and resting on his chest instead while he began to lean over her.

Draco's right hand wrapped around her throat so gently. He knew the bruises were gone, but he was careful. He didn't want to hurt her... Ever.

Eden's lips were so intoxicating. She was like a drug to him. The feeling of needing her to survive was very much there when they were close; touching each other's bodies.

Eden liked his hand around her throat. The possessiveness in his touch was just made her feel so... 

Words couldn't even describe.

She liked knowing he thought of her that way. Like if anyone just touched her in the slightest of wrong ways, he would rip their bloody head off.

Knocks from the door came, but the two ignored it as Draco moved his hand from her hair and placed it down on the bed behind her. They were leaning more to one side. Any second now and Eden was going to fall back on the soft and comfortable bed.

KNOCK KNOCK.

Again they came, harder that time.

And again... And again until Draco frustratedly pulled away from her, sighing and looking above her head at the wall with disappointment.

Why then? Of all the times to be knocking at the stupid door, whoever it was thought now was the perfect time?

No.

No it was not.

"Just answer it." Eden's soft whisper caught his attention again and with a huff, he got off of her— allowing her to lean back up— and walked over to the door.

With his hand on the knob he turned his head and looked at the girl sitting on the bed. Her hair was already messy and she was there trying to pull it to one side and flatten it out again.

"Holy fuck! You took such a long time! I came with food! Hello Eden, long time no see." Walking into the room, Pansy had bags of take out in her hands. "Draco sent me a message just a few minutes ago. Here. Bread with chocolate chips, just as you like."

The smile on her face grew even bigger at the mention. Such a strange and tiny detail for him to remember, but he did. He actually cared enough to remember.

Unlike some people she knew...

AHEM Harry.

"Oh and I got this for you Draco." She began to shuffle through the bag, but when she pulled her hand out, she had her middle finger stuck up with the brightest smile on her face.

Not amusing... At least for him.

Eden chuckled quietly to herself while he responded to Pansy with the straightest of faces. "Haha. You're so funny."

"Yes I know. Anyway I'm hungry. Took me an hour to find this place and I've knocked at the wrong door like 7 times. Wow this place is actually really rich." All of the food in her hands was put down onto the table and her new focus was on the view from the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pansy stayed for the meal, ate with them and then took off saying she had some other duties to attend to back at her new home. She didn't specify on what or rather whom she was running home to, but that was no one's business but her own.

Draco told Eden to take a shower, make herself at home and she did agree after the day she just had, a nice hot shower would be extremely calming for her.

There was no shampoo for her nor conditioner... There was not anything there for her. So she had to make do with what she had at her service.

After she finished she put on grey shorts and a large black t-shirt. Just something comfortable for bed.

The sleeping situation was still not discussed. Eden was still unclear on how it would work. If he would sleep with her on the bed or if she would need to sleep on something else like the couch.

In the end, Eden was fine with whatever he was comfortable with. If he wanted her to sleep on the bed with him or if he didn't was fine with her.

The thing was, after their kiss. After everything that has happened in the last two days, things were different. Not a bad different, but they were definitely new.

The way they acted around one another. It was more chill than what they were used to and it seemed as though his protectiveness had only grown stronger since the kiss.

He never left her out of his sight when they're were together, even if it meant he wasn't looking at her directly, he needed to know where she was or what she was doing.

That was her own fault though.

After he got out of the shower Eden sat upright on the bed from her comfortable position laying down. She was ready to leave and get comfortable somewhere else, but Draco walked over right away to tell her to stop.

"I'll sleep elsewhere if that's what you want. You deserve the bed."

"No no! You do. It's your hotel room. You're paying for it. I am just a guest."

"Eden... I'll sleep on the couch. Goodnig-"

"No wait!" Her cool hand reached out for his warm one and she tugged lightly on him. "I'm fine if you're fine... About sleeping on the bed. We've done it before, though that time was an accident."

"You're sure?"

"God just get in the bed Draco." Her voice was stern as she turned on her side, looking away from where he was to be laying in just a moment.

To her surprise, he actually listened. No comment about her attitude, no comment about anything for a matter of fact. He really listened to her.

The other side of the bed weighed down when he got in under the sheets with her and immediately she could feel the warmth of his body radiating onto her...

It had been so long since she shared a bed with someone she liked. Last person she did that with was Harry.

Gosh.

Everything always went back to Harry when it came to things like that. Eden was beginning to grow tired of it. The girl did not even care for him in that way anymore. It was probably because of the connection from being soulmates. It was grasping onto anything to bring them back together.

"No need to be tense Eden... It's just me."

Her heart fluttered when he uttered those few words.

It's just me.

It played in her head over and over again.

The smoothness in his voice was unbelievably attractive, though she tried to hide the way she felt, just like she always did with him.

"I am not tense. I don't know what you're talking about. If anything you're tense, laying still on the edge of the bed like the way you are now."

"So you want me to come closer to you?" Rolling onto his side; he was definitely closer to her. She could feel his eyes burning into the back of her head when he suddenly traced his finger, pulling some of her hair back and running it all the way down her back. "I like your hair down. It looks pretty."

There he went again! He was doing this on purpose. Definitely!

Eden turned onto her other side so that she was now facing him, their eyes meeting each other's stare. "Thank you..."

"Goodnight Eden. You better be here when I wake up."

"You're the only person who cares Draco. Even if I wanted to I couldn't."

A small smile appeared on his lips.

She said 'if she wanted to'...

Eden didn't want to leave.

She wanted to stay with him.

It made him happy that despite all the stress and hatred she was put under by her own friends, she still made space to enjoy things like this... Like him.


	47. Memory 17

April, 1998

"No... NO PLEASE! He's just a child. PLEASE STOP IT!"

The child's screams and cries of pain were echoing throughout the whole room.

Tall ceilings.

Marble floors.

Beautiful pillars and paintings that lined the walls.

"EDEN PLEASE!" He shouted so loudly it even caused the guards around the room to flinch.

Tears filled her eyes. There was nothing she could do. Her magic was stripped away by entering the room. Everyone who did not have a dark mark would experince this upon entering.

She should have listened to Draco. She should have stayed back.

But she did not and now she was listening to the whips of terror on the poor 11 year old boy. So young.

Colin Burke was his name.

She remembered him from before school let out. She'd helped him to his first charms class of the semester.

Poor boy.

He did not deserve this.

No one his age did.

Lining the walls beside her were Luna, Angelina, Lavender and a bunch of other Order members that had been caught while injured in battle... They were all waiting to be killed.

"LET HIM GO PLEASE! PLEASE!"

A hand impacted her cheek slapping her across the face.

That was the final straw.

That was what made her burst into tears.

Not from the pain, but rather the fact that she couldn't do anything to help the boy who was so desperately calling out for her to save him.

Eden woke up with a jump, slightly twitching when her eyes opened, but was quickly relaxed by the feeling of a hand around her waist, pulling her closer and nuzzling his head into the back of her neck.

"Bad dream?"

All she did in response was nod her head, feeling for his hand and finding it near her chest.

"What was this one about?"

"Colin Burke. He's a first year so I don't suppose you'd know him. He was being beaten to death in front of a bunch of people from The Order and I. I was screaming for them to stop, there was nothing I could do to help him. I woke up when someone slapped me. A tall Death Eater. He had a mask on though. I'm not sure who he was... Do you think these mean something Draco?"

For the last part of March and the beginning of April, Eden had been having dreams like this twice per week. Always something to do with the war and always stuff about death and pain. For the amount of times she'd have these kinds of dream, she was beginning to think they meant something; like a warning to her.

"I'm sure they're just nightmares. You've been very stressed. It would only make sense. I need to go soon." Draco mumbled and pulled his head away from her neck as she turned her head to look at him.

"Promise me you'll be safe? You won't get hurt."

"I promise you Eden. Just like every other day you ask me. I'm strong enough to get through 3 hours of duelling. You won't need to worry about me. As for you, I want you to be rested and I want you to stay here. You know the rule-"

She rolled her eyes cutting him short. "Yes I know the bloody rules. I won't go outside without you."

"Good girl."

Oh wow...

That was definitely new.

Did she like it?

Yes of course.

Did she want him to call her that ever again.

100%

He knew what he did to her, the sly little smirk on his face said it all. The slight blush on her cheeks were starting to show through too. It was hard to contain it after something like that. Something so...

Sensual.

"Go get ready then. Be safe."

"Just for you Abella." He smiled and and stood from the bed.

It took him maybe 5 minutes to get himself ready and by the time he walked out of the bathroom Eden was fast asleep again. She'd been sleeping a lot recently. She was very tired all of the time, even if she slept for more than 10 hours.

At first it was a little concerning, staying in bed all day was not healthy. But Draco let her do it anyway. There was not much he could do to stop her if he was all the way on a battle field fighting off her ex-boyfriend and ex-friends.

"I'll see you..." His whisper was more of a mutter to himself. He could not seem to take his eyes off of her either until he apparated out of the room.

Her eyes opened wide and she got out of the bed.

Eden was not actually sleeping. She'd heard what he said, though that was not the point.

Of course she was going to leave the bloody room.

She'd been in there for a month with Draco and none of those days did she step outside unless it was on the balcony for a moment to smoke a cigarette, but that would always end up with Draco waking up to come and ruin her fun.

She had taken note of it. Draco was not very big on the idea of her smoking... Or rather doing anything to harm her health whether it be then or in the future. The boy would always rip it out of her hands and smoke it himself.

What a fucking hypocrite.

Eden put her hair up in a low and loose ponytail, and changed out of her shorts and t-shirt.

The girl had a big day today so looking her best was not her biggest concern in that moment.

When she apparated out of the room, she fell to the ground outside of the large building.

The new safe house.

How she found out the address was by listening to Draco. Pretending to sleep was not only good for sneaking out, but it was also good to get information. She only ever used it for that reason when she needed the address though and the only reason why she did it was because she knew Draco would never tell her if she asked.

Now that she was out of The Order's life Draco planned on keeping it that way for her safety.

The building looked older, but not as old as the other safe house back at 12 Grimmauld Place.

Large pillars went high up to the extending roof looking as if it was holding the house up... It kind of looked like the white house, but a little less white.

"Who goes there?!" Harry pointed his wand at the girl, standing in the empty lawn in front of the house.

Eden was standing quite a bit away from the house, so that was most likely why he could not recognize her from where she stood.

She was only now realizing that wherever this place was, it was secluded from anything.

No shops, no neighbours.

It appeared that there was no trace of muggles anywhere.

"It's Eden."

Just by her voice Harry dropped his wand.

"Eden..? Eden!" He ran off of the stairs running to engulf her in a hug.

Harry was relieved to see her.

Did he think she died or something horrible like that? Well she wouldn't be to surprised. They had not seen each other in a months time.

The poor boy looked tired. Dark bags took the place under his eyes and his eyebrows looked as though they were permanently furrowed with sadness or pain. The sparkle in his eyes were gone.

Had something happened?

Why was he like this?

What did Eden miss.

"I thought I was never going to see you again Eden! Bloody hell... Where have you been? What have you been doing for the past months."

Hmm... Now this was tricky.

How does one tell their soulmate they've been sharing a bed with the man who tried to kill him.

Very tough indeed.

Maybe just avoiding the question entirely would be a great solution.

"You look worn out. What's happened to you? Where is everyone. Where is Fred."

Ah yes, Fred. The only person Eden was still on good terms with, but has not seen in a month. She bet that he thought she was angry with him after storming out that day. What was she saying? everyone probably thought she hated them.

"Ginny died."

Eden's heart stopped for a moment and she froze in place, looking into his eyes hoping it was some kind of joke, though it would not be a funny one, but there was no sign of that.

This was no joke.

Harry was telling her the truth.

"I was the one who brought her body back. I had just missed it. By the time I got to her there was nothing I could have done... She was still warm when I picked her up. Cold by the time I got her back here."

"Oh my... I'm- I'm sorry for your loss."

Harry shook his head. "The loss is not so much mine Eden. More the Weasleys. Ron hasn't gotten out of bed since it happened. Fred is barely hanging on by a thread and George has blocked it completely out of his mind. He still refuses it happened. He's convinced himself she's still alive. I know you did not like her-"

"Stop Harry. You have no idea how I felt about her."

"Well you don't seem so sad about it." Harry responded quickly in his defence.

Well of course she didn't. It already happened. She missed the window to be sad and seeing as they were not as close as before, it was not the same. "When did it happen? When did Ginny pass away?"

"A week after you left. I think you'll be relieved to know it was not Draco Malfoy who casted the curse on her."

Oh here we go again. So passive aggressive with Harry Potter all the bloody time. "What the hell is that supposed to mean Harry? Are you seriously doing this right now-"

"I can see it in your eyes. You've been staying with him. You really went to him Eden? He's the worst of them all. I would have thought you were better than that-"

"You know what no Harry!" Eden cut him off with a shout, just loud enough to overpower his voice, but then returning to her natural tone. "It was clear I was not going back to you guys after the shit that Hermione pulled and who else do I have? He found me at my mother's grave, brought me back to his place and was kind enough to let me stay with him. You paint him out to be this fucking monster when that is not the case at all. You've always been jealous of him Harry. Never thought you would still be this immature at 19. Now I'm not here to speak with you, nor Hermione or anyone else that you're thinking of. I'm here to speak with Remus."

"What the hell do you want with him?"

"Is that really any of your business?"

Gosh, when did Harry become so insufferable?

Eden began to walk past him to the door of the large house, Harry following closely behind her, opening his mouth and continuing the conversation Eden was trying so hard to run away from. "Are you seriously going to block me out Eden? After everything we've been through-"

"Hey, you need to cut it out with that 'after everything we've been through' bullshit because after everything we've been through we're still not together and that's on you not me." She mocked his voice as she spoke.

She was truly fed up with this treatment she was receiving from him. The boy she thought was supposed to be the one that really cared about her.

His hugs weren't the same. The warm feeling she got from them was long gone, now he just felt like any other person she hugs.

Meaningless.

In response to what she shot back at him... He stayed quiet because he knew damn well that she was right. There was nothing to argue about anymore.

"Can I ask you a favour?" She turned her head standing at the door of the house, before she pulled it open. "Show me to wherever Remus is. I'll be able to take it from there and you can leave me alone."

"Seriously-"

"Harry if you won't help me I'll find someone else who will."

"GOSH!" Harry huffed, pulling the door open and walking inside, holding it open for her as well. "Fine."

Walking through the halls, people looked at her weirdly, probably trying to pin where they knew her from. She saw some new faces too. Some first year students were hanging around in the long, wide hallways, third years and second years too. So weird seeing all the young people. They were too young for all of this.

It was sad.

"Wait Harry." Her hand wrapped around his wrist, halting him and pulling him back so that he was standing beside her. "Who is that boy? The one sitting against the wall. He's reading a book."

"Why that's Colin Burke. You know him don't you? You were his guide. I remember you telling me when you wrote me your letters."

"Yeah... Yeah I was, I was just confused. I couldn't place him. It's been a long time after all." She smiled softly and shook her head looking into Harry's green eyes which were already plastered onto the side of her face. She only realized when she turned her head. "Let's continue shall we?"

"Of course."

Turning down a left corridor, Eden could easily tell where his new study was. All the way at the end was a large door, huge even. It went from the high ceiling to the floor. Honestly, it looked like something out of a Disney movie.

Eden remembered those movies from when she was just a child. Her stepbrother hated when she watched them. It was because she would hog the tv for that day and he would miss a new episode of whatever he used to watch.

A smile quirked onto her lips as the memory raced quickly through her mind and by the time she snapped back into the moment they were standing in front of the giant door.

"If you need anything just shout. I'll be around."

"Thanks..."

With Harry now gone, Eden knocked gently at the door hearing a response right away. "Eden Abella is that you?"

How in hell?

Eden popped her head into the room first and then the rest of her body, shutting the door behind her. "How did you-"

"I only know one person who'd be that gentle while knocking on a door. Come on in, make yourself at home. It's been quite some time since you've come to visit hmm... Would you like anything to drink? Eat?" Remus asked her while pulling out the chair from his desk and motioning his hand for her to sit.

Taking the opportunity while it still stood, she sat down in the chair and tucked herself in all while he walked back around and sat in front of her.

So much paperwork filled the desk, you could barely see the wood from the surface. Her eyes caught glimpse of some things that were written on them and put two and two together in her head. "Are these tests?"

"Indeed. I've decided since we have so many young kids here, it would be good if I could use some of my teaching methods to inform them on what they must know. It's proving to be much more... Difficult than I originally thought it would be. Anyway, how did you get out?"

"Get out?" Eyebrows furrowed, Eden looked at him confused. "I'm not sure I'm understanding what you mean?"

A chuckle escaped his lips. "I am no idiot Eden. Unlike Harry, I can put two and two together. You are staying with him are you not? How did he let you come here all on your own?"

Wow. Very impressive on his part.

"He does not know I'm here. Not yet at least. He'll find out by the end of the day but as of right now he's off doing some things." Yeah she was not going to tell Remus that he was busy going to kill people from The Order. "I faked sleeping and right after he left I got ready and came here. I must tell you of some things that have been happening. They're weird."

"I'm sure I've heard weirder things than what you are about to tell me. But go on, what's on your mind. I won't judge."

Well she would hope so...

"It sounds weird and it's probably nothing, but I've been having these dreams... Not every night, but so often that it's become a normal occurrence. Maybe twice a week, once if I'm lucky. They're bad dreams, but not the bad dreams where a monster chases you until you fall off a cliff and wake up. No, these are very different. I've been dreaming of The Order. Things that will happen to them. I have been a bunch of people in those dreams whom I have never seen in my life before and as I was walking through the hallways I was starting to connect the faces. They're all Order members." She started to explain, but paused for his input so far.

"What are these dreams about?"

"Death mostly. It's always a third person view of their death. Many were tortured and drowned. They had their eyes gauged out of their heads and fingernails ripped off. Fingers being cut off... It always ended with them being stabbed in the heart with a small dagger, but last night.. Last night I had one just like that, but the only difference was that I was not watching in third person. I could speak. I was there in the room. My hands were tied. I was about to be killed, but that's not really the point. Colin Burke was in this one. He was screaming my name while they whipped him. I tried to help, but I had no magic and I couldn't move for whatever reason. I was begging for them to let him go, but they did not listen. Instead a Death Eater slapped me across the face and then I woke up. I just find it weird. I had no clue Colin was part of The Order until now. I had no clue any of these children were part of it, but yet I've been having these vivid dreams about them dying."

It took Remus a moment to process everything she just said and it was silent up until a woman's voice joined in. "Perhaps she can see the future? She might be predicting it in her dreams?"

Hermione.

There she was walking in uninvited.

Harry must have told her Eden was there or else why would she have been there. Eden knew for a fact she did not talk with Remus often.

"I think Hermione is right on this one. You're predicting the future events of our rebellion and what is to become of it. These dreams you're having, you say they feel real, like you're there. The only other thing I can think of is a lucid dream? But if you're telling me you have not seen those kids ever in your life until the dreams, I think that rules out that possibility."

"Yes. I didn't know who they were, I still don't know who they are."

Hermione awkwardly stood at the doorway. "Sorry for barging in like this... But I've finished my shift for the day. I was wondering if you'd like me to put away some of the books in the library?"

"Ah yes. Please do so. It would help me out greatly... And how about you take Eden with you. You don't mind do you Eden?"

Damnit. How was she supposed to say no. She tried to, but all that came out of her mouth of the complete opposite of what she wanted

"Of course not. I'd be glad to help."

Alright Eden now you're milking it. Enough.

"Great. Now regarding these dreams of yours. If you have another concerning one like the one you had last night, let me know. Even if you cannot come in person, write to us. I'll read your letter as soon as I get it. Off you two go. Hermione will show you to the library."

Well isn't that just great. Alone time with Hermione.

Eden just prayed that she had enough self control not to stand up and strangle her from how much rage she still felt about their argument.


	48. Memory 18

April, 1998

"So... You're clairvoyant now? Seems like I have missed a lot."

An hour they had been in that beautiful library and now she was trying to make small talk. Sure took her long enough to build up the bloody courage.

"You have." The tone in Eden's voice was monotone and her eyes did not even falter to look at the girl standing beside her, stacking books onto the empty shelves.

They were instructed to do it by section. Match the numbers with the ones of the shelf. That was what the note on the table said.

"This place is painfully boring." Eden mumbled, grabbing hold of another book and putting it on the shelf.

"Well, we're in the middle of a war Eden. I would not expect it to be a very fun place."

She knew Hermione wanted to bring it up. How Eden was living an easy life, doing nothing, sleeping all day and being relaxed while they were there working their butts off. But that was their own fault and that was why Hermione did not say anything about it. At least she was self aware.

"I know what you think of me Hermione. You made it extremely clear when I left. You don't have to pretend to be interested in what I've been up to."

Hermione sighed and stopped stacking the books, turning to look at her. "Despite what you think Eden, I do care about you and your whereabouts. Just because I said what I said does not mean I stopped caring for you."

If she really cared she would have found you and apologized for everything she said and all the pain she caused. Hermione is a liar-

Eden snapped out of that thought as quick as it came. "Interesting... Harry told me about what happened to Ginny. Sorry for your loss."

Was she actually being nice to her right then and there? Ugh she knew her tough girl act was going to falter as soon as she was alone with Hermione.

"Thanks... Harry told me you've been staying with Malfoy. Have you been alright there with him?" Hermione changed the subject yet again. They were speaking with such petty tones in their voices while actually being concerned for one another.

"I have been fine. It's kind of lonely, but I'd rather be alone than with a headache all of the time. Too much screaming and yelling here... Hermione," And that was when the act truly fell. Her eyes connected with Hermione's and she too stopped stacking the books. "I want to help you guys. I want to contribute."

Hermione smirked slightly. "You already are. Your dreams will help us. It'll help us in a way that you won't be getting into any danger while also giving us major tips on how to avoid things like death-"

Eden was baffled. "Harry still doesn't want me to be part of this? Even after we broke up and I ran off with the man who tried to kill him. He really still wants me to be safe?"

"Has Draco not told you Eden?" Hermione asked the girl now also baffled.

"Told me what?"

Hermione's eyes widened slightly and she knew she slipped up and told Eden too much, but there was no point in lying now. "Malfoy has been writing us letters telling us how you have been. They're more for Harry, but he never wrote back when we asked if you were with him and where you were or even how he knew what you were doing. I mean, we all kind of knew where you were, but we wanted to keep all possibilities open. We didn't know if you'd been captured and put in a cell with 24 hour surveillance from Malfoy... Actually that was Harry's theory."

Now that was a psychotic theory...

"Draco wouldn't let that happen to me. I know he wouldn't."

Hermione stayed silent. She learned her lesson from the last time she spoke up on her opinions about the boy.

"I'm sorry..."

Eden turned her head to look at the girl speaking beside her.

"I'm sorry about what I said... I'm sorry that I slapped you. I don't know what I was thinking when I did that. I was angry and I should not have taken it out on you like that. I know you'll probably hate me for eternity, but I'm deeply sorry for what I've done to hurt you."

Hermione? Saying sorry?

What a miracle. Note the sarcasm...

Eden stayed silent for a moment to take in what she just said. Hermione never apologized for anything. She was 'always in the right' and because of that she felt that she did not need to say sorry for anything.

She must have actually been serious if those words really just left her mouth.

"I'm sorry too. My behaviour was also unacceptable. I should have just listened instead of getting so mad at yo-"

Crashing and banging came from downstairs making both of the girls stop what they were doing, looking at the door in fear that it might be an attack on the house.

"WHERE SHE HELL IS SHE POTTER?!"

A shaky breath escaped Eden's lips and she looked at the window just to see that the sky was completely dark. "Draco..." The time had slipped from her and there was no clock or watch in this room yet. It was still being built after all. She didn't even realize that he was off of his shift and now... Well now he was here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, downstairs Draco pointed his wand at anything he could break, shattering vases full of flowers and pictures that hung on the wall of the entrance while people attempted to hold him back, being pushed off forcefully and ending up getting hurt from the impact with the floor or wall or both.

"You have something of mine Potter. I'm not leaving until I get her BACK!" Draco casted a spell, hitting another vase and breaking it. Water spilled everywhere while he stalked closer to Harry, who had his wand drawn, but did not use it to hurt or stop Draco.

"YOURS?!" Harry laughed in amusement. "You're joking! She's MINE! I'm her bloody soulmate. You're not good for her!"

"Oh please Potter. If you were good for her she would not be sleeping beside ME every night. How long has it been since you talked to her. OH YEAH! A bloody MONTH!" Draco shot back casting a spell right over Harry's head and hitting a landscape painting that hung near the end of the hall.

"Stupefy!" Harry shouted as a red spark left the tip of his wand, charging toward Draco as fast as light.

Draco waved his hand in the air and shouted, "Protego!"

The red spark hit the shield which covered him, bouncing off and hitting the ceiling where it then died out not causing any damage to anyone or anything.

"I have been trained by some of the most skilled Death Eaters of all time and you think you're going to STUN me?! Now I understand why you're losing this war!" Draco's shouting was progressively getting louder the more he waited for Harry to tell him where she was. "Where the HELL IS SHE! Tell me NOW!"

"STOP!" Eden came running down the stairs quickly with Hermione following right behind her and holding onto her hand to prevent her from running right in the middle of the fire zone. "Stop this!"

Draco's hand fell down to the side. Now that he could see her he did not feel the need to destroy anything further.

"Stupefy!" Harry shouted again as more red sparks went flying across to where Draco was standing.

This time, without even saying a word, right when the spell was about to stun him, his arm waved up and the spell, yet again bounced off of the shield and died out just shortly after it did so.

Eden looked around the hallway. Water was everywhere and cracked picture frames from the impact of falling were scattered on the floor. Her mouth opened into an o shape.

Now all eyes were on Eden while Hermione stood closely behind her with both of her hands on her shoulders.

"How does everything always end up being my bloody fault?" Eden muttered and looked back toward Hermione while slapping her hands down to her sides.

"Eden, you pick. Us or him?" Harry spoke up loudly, the question catching her off guard.

Even Hermione disagreed with the question he was asking, saying a quick "Harry..." Before he shook his head and got upset.

"Pick Eden! The boy who thinks your his property or the people who are trying to save your life."

Draco's eyebrows furrowed and he looked at Harry with shock. "I have NEVER said that-"

"You called her yours for crying out loud Malfoy!"

"Yeah she is mine."

Eden was internally face palming. The bickering from these two had lasted way too many years for this to be happening right now AGAIN.

"Eden PICK!"

"Don't raise your voice at her!" Draco's hand went up, ready to cast a spell and hurt Harry for the way he just spoke, but quickly his hand was pulled back down and the girl was standing small by his side.

"Draco don't you dare!" Her teeth were clenched when she spoke to him. "Let's go."

"You're choosing him Eden? You're serious?!"

There was a reason why she left and Harry had just reminded her why.

The boy was always in control.

If something was not his way, he did not stand for it and changed it immediately. He forced her out of the war... She was finally fed up with him.

"Yeah because unlike you he actually fucking cares." Eden spat turning her head toward him and shooting him a mean stare.

Draco did not want to hear anymore of this nonsense leaving Harry's mouth. He could not bear to be in that house with him for any second longer. It was taking so much restraint for him not to just kill him right there and then. Not even for the Dark Lord but just for himself.

His arm wrapped around Eden's small body and he turned them around, walking out of the house with the screams of Harry saying horrible things about her and shouting at people who were trying to stop him.

"I'm mad at you." She looked forward, but kept his arm around her shoulders.

Just because she was mad did not mean she didn't want his comforting hold on her. The warmness of his body making her feel warmer.

"No Eden. I'm fucking mad at you." His grip on her tightened when he said that.

All of a sudden she could smell it.

The burning stench of alcohol.

"Have you been drinking?" She finally looked up toward him, but he wouldn't respond to her, he only kept walking them out of the anti-apparation enchantments. "Draco have you been drinking yes or no?"

He stopped walking and took his hands off of her. "So what if I have Eden? What are you going to do about it?"

Yeah... Yeah he was definitely drunk even if it was just a little. With the attitude he had at that moment, it was clear as day and she got her answer.

"You lied to me then? You weren't out fighting with the Death Eat-"

"You lied to ME Eden! You left without a trace. And as for the alcohol, I had a few drinks with some guys after we finished. I did not lie to you... Though the same thing could not be said about you."

She looked down and continued forth without him. The thing was, even if she did realize the time, she had no idea how to get back to The Savoy. She knew nothing except that it was a room. The girl didn't even know what floor it was on.

If she even tried, she'd most likely end up in a totally different room, not knowing if she was close or not.

So deep down in the back of her mind she knew Draco was going to come for her and that this was going to happen, but she didn't really think it completely through when she left the room. The realization only set in when she was in the library.

Because of the lack of conversation happening between her and Hermione it gave her time to think.

"What the hell did you think was going to happen? Honestly?" Draco gripped her wrist tightly and apparated them back into the hotel room.

She almost tumbled onto the floor when they appeared, but Draco quickly reacted and caught her, making her stand upright and letting go right after, walking off to the window and looking outside.

"You lied... Why did you lie Eden?"

"Because I knew if I told you, you would not let me go. I needed to speak with someone. I needed to explain something. If I had told you your answer would have been no right from the start-"

"You're fucking right about that Abella."

Ouch. Back to last names... He always did that when he was upset with her. It was a way to punish her.

"But there's a reason why I say no!" He shouted at her and turned around while the curtain fell through his fingers. "There is a reason why I don't want you there without me!"

What was she to say? There was nothing, just complete silence.

"Why? Why don't you want me there-"

"BECAUSE! It's dangerous, Harry's a psychotic freak, and all they want from you is to be their bloody punching bag and I will not let that happen Eden. Not to you and not again!"

Eden looked away from him and shook her head. "They don't use me as a punching bag-"

"Yes they do-"

"No they don't-"

"YES THEY DO! You notice how while you were in Harry's care you got hurt so many times. You almost got choked to death, you went to the burrow and almost got yourself killed, Hermione called you a worthless piece of trash... Shall I go on because the list goes forever"

"I think that's enough." Her eyes rolled, annoyed by how much he remembered and used against her.

"Meanwhile, you're in my care now and you have not gotten hurt once and never have I put you in any sort of danger. You think I want you going alone to the people who will end up getting you killed? I just simply won't allow it. You're not going back there without me. Actually no. You are not going back there period." Draco's voice was deep and serious sounding, his eyes were filled with anger and rage towards her.

It was so bad Eden couldn't even look at him.

She was too scared to.

She did not like those judging eyes that he gave her.

"You can't tell me what I can and can't do and who I can and can't see."

He suddenly reached for the back of her neck, tilting her head upward to look into his eyes. He knew she would lose all the confidence she had when he did that. He was right.

"You want to bet Abella?"

Like ice. That was how his words felt.

"I can make you do whatever the hell I want and you know why? Because I have you wrapped around my finger."

There was no more screaming.

Draco's jaw was clenched while looking as her face drop. It was then that he realized what he said and how fucked up it really was.

"That's it? I'm just your puppet?"

His hand slid off of her neck and she took a step backward to be away from him.

"Eden..."

"No... No don't worry. I completely understand what you meant. No need for justify it."

His heart was pounding out of his chest and he wished he could go and take everything he said back.

You know that feeling when you think two people would never get in a fight because they had nothing to fight about, but then ended up fighting?

That was how both of them felt right now.

"You know I didn't mean it like that."

"I know exactly what you meant Draco. Again, no need to justify it. Hermione was right about you all along and-"

She was taken by surprise.

Draco's hand went to the back of her head and he smashed his lips onto her's. His other hand went to her waist, wrapping his arm around it and pulling her close.

Eden kissed back.

She kissed back because she didn't want to argue with him. This was the way out of it and she was going to take it.

But that's not right is it Eden..?

No, it wasn't.

But if she lost him there would be no one left. Harry was no longer an option. Not after the way he behaved tonight.

The kiss picked up quickly, her fingers got tangled in his platinum hair and she tugged ever so lightly on it out of habit.

His hand slid under her shirt, but her hand shot quickly to his wrist and pulled it back out from under. Eden pulled herself away from him, looking up into his eyes while keeping a close distance. "No no Draco. We can't do this now"

"Why can't we?"

"Well for starters you're drunk, you're angry-"

"I'm not angry."

Eden gave him a cool stare and put her hands on each of his shoulders. "My answer is no."

She was firm with her answer, firm enough to make him back off, though he wasn't planning on doing anything to her either way.

No meant no.

"Alright. Fine..."

"And I stand by what I said. I'm going back whether you like it or not. I don't care what you think is safe and what isn't safe. They need me." Eden got herself out of his hold and turned to walk into the bathroom. She needed to take a shower.

Draco's eyes followed, staring hard into the back of her head when he opened his mouth to speak again. "You will not go alone. I will come with you."

"If that's what you want."

Great. They'd come to an agreement. Finally after all that screaming and yelling and meaningless insults. It was that easy the whole time.

After Eden finished in the shower Draco went, did his thing and then walked out and got into the bed with her.

Her back was facing toward him like almost every night, though she somehow always found herself buried into him by the time she woke up. His arm wrapped around her and her hands on his chest.


	49. Memory 19

April, 1998

That next morning Eden woke sometime in the afternoon.

Draco, well he was no where to be seen.

He left without leaving a note. Perhaps it was because after the alcohol wore off he became embarrassed with his behaviour, or maybe it was because he was still mad at her?

Eden had no clue, but it was one of those.

Though he was not there with her, she remembered their agreement from the night before. They would go together to the safe house.

She needed to speak with Fred. See how he was doing with the Ginny situation. She didn't get the chance to see him last night. Draco came before she could and she wasn't going to let him completely destroy the house while she went to speak with her friend.

By the time the clock hit 5, Draco was back, this time sober, thank god.

Eden was sat on the bed, just finishing the left side of her waterfall braid so she could put it half up half down when she went.

She was wearing what she usually wore, just a simple hoodie and some jeans that flared slightly at the bottom.

Even though she spent the last hour on her hair, it looked frizzy or even a little messy, like she'd fallen asleep on it, but it was not bad to the point where it looked horrid on her, so she left that way. The messy look was in anyway so who cared.

Seeing Eden struggle to tie up her hair and hold the two braids together, Draco walked over and put his right hand over her's and his left hand doing the same, taking hold of her hair and pulling the hair tie off of her wrist. "Let me do it.."

The girl let him. She needed the help anyway.

His cold hands slid down to her shoulder when he finished and with his right hand, he grabbed some of her hair, pulling it over to the left side, now looking at the emptiness of her neck.

"Have you eaten today?"

The sleekness in his little whisper sent goosebumps running up her arms.

"No I haven't. I'm not hungry right now. I'll have something later on."

Could this get anymore awkward?

The silence in between their words was only making the mood more and more tense. Soon the pit in her stomach would become big enough to engulf her.

"Are you ready to go? I'll take you now so you have some time with Fred... He's the reason you're going is he not?" By the way Draco said his name, Eden knew he took a liking to Fred. If he did not, Fred would have been referred to as Weasley. That was probably why he was so lenient on letting her go down tonight.

The two arrived shortly after their talk, walking through the halls and finding where Fred's room was.

"Are you still mad at me?" Eden asked as they walked up the staircase leading to the fourth floor.

So many levels because there were so many people staying here, but why did his room have to be on a high one?

"I'm not mad. I'm disappointed that you didn't trust me enough to tell me, but I realize that's my own fault... Not yours. You didn't trust me because I've been a dick about it."

If he truly were not mad at her, he wouldn't have made the environment so tense and he would have also been looking at her when he spoke.

He was good at making her feel bad that was for sure.

Not saying her name, not looking at her, being extremely passive aggressive in what he said to her. The fucking guy was a master at it and the worst part was that she did not even think he did this on purpose just to get her upset. He was doing it because that was really how he felt about her at that moment.

"I'll go in alone." Eden stopped in front of the wooden door which was lined with a white baseboard all around it. "Please try not to get into any arguments while I'm inside alright?"

"Depends on if I see Potter or not."

Whipping her head toward him with wide eyes, her view was now on the boy who leaned against the wall right beside her. He was proudly wearing a smirk on his lip.

"A joke Eden. It was a joke." His head tilted down while looking at her too.

Eden knocked on the door, hoping he was still awake. She would not blame him if he were not. Fighting all day long was tiring and took a lot of energy. Something that surprised her was how Draco never got like this after coming back from a fight.

"Not a funny one." She removed her eyes from him and looked over at the door which opened right after those words left her mouth.

Fred didn't even hesitate once he realized who was standing outside the door waiting for him. His arms wrapped around her and basically pulled her into the room with him. To Eden's surprise, they didn't lose their balance, which Eden totally thought would happen after all the force he used to pull her in.

"Jesus Eden you've been gone for too long. You had me worried sick until Malfoy started sending those letters. I knew he wasn't lying. Thank goodness. I heard about what happened yesterday down in the entrance. Did anyone harm you?"

"I'm fine Fred. I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me-"

"No no because it is my job to look out for you. I don't care what anyone says. I was worried sick, thought you ended up dead too."

Dead too. Did he mean like... As well as his sister?

Draco who was leaning on the wall outside of the room listened in on the conversation.

Only now did the realization kick in.

There were other people who cared about Eden.

There were other people who worried for her wellbeing.

Malfoy was not the only one who deserved to know about her whereabouts.

He'd taken her from them for a month and the only thing he did was send misleading letters to the safe house, which he only found because he tracked Dean Thomas, seeing him apparate away from the battlefield after his shift for the day was done.

Draco had a talent for tracking like that. It was easiest if you had the victims blood which he got from slicing Dean's arm with a dagger in the middle of their duelling. After he got that and Eden fell asleep, he set out to find him.

This was before the anti-dark magic enchantments were put on the new safe house of course. If those were cast on the house he would have never found this place at all.

"You missed my bloody birthday Eden! Where has he been keeping you? Are you in danger? You can tell me Eden I won't tell anyone. I don't think he would be the type, but if he is you tell me. I'll keep you safe and hidden-"

Eden leaned in closer to his ear and cupped her hand around it. "He's standing outside the door right now, but no he is not a danger to me. If he were I don't think I would be standing here and speaking to you."

His eyes widened in embarrassment and he quickly shut the door behind Eden. "Muffliato." Fred's hand rose, in it was his wand and he began to charm the area with the spell.

"I can't tell you where I have been. I mean I actually don't know. It's at The Savoy, but I have no clue what room number. Every time I get close to opening the door he always catches me. Draco's always around. I'm sure he has his reasons as to why I'm not allowed to know though." She was sure right he did. She knew why after last night. If she was to know the room number she would leave and come back without him being able to prevent her. "Tell me how you have been feeling? I've heard what happened to Ginny. My condolences-"

"Please don't. I have heard that one too many times now. I don't want a reminder of something I cannot undo or fix." Fred told her as he walked over to his bed and sat down on it. "Sit. George is out getting food with Hermione right now. He needed a bit of an outing. He's been very... Focused on fighting. Never gives himself a break now."

Eden did not want to bring up what Harry told her. About how George completely erased Ginny's death from his mind. That would bring down the mood and after Fred specifically told her not to speak on it, she did not want to hurt him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It did not take long before George was back and Eden was forced to leave. It was better if she didn't speak with him yet. She was scared she would mess up and say something stupid that would end up making him lash out.

When she left the room Draco was no longer on the wall, but rather down the hallway near a large window, looking out at the field of grass behind the house, which slowly turned into a forest of large trees.

"What are you looking at?" Eden asked when making it to the end of the hallway with him.

It was so dark right there, but at closer examination she realized the light above them was shattered. That was the result of living in a house full of children and teens.

"I'm looking at the way the moon lights up the top of the tree's. It's so bright because it is so empty. I don't know. Just thought it was cool." He looked toward her, catching the small smile on her face before it disappeared.

"It is cool. You don't see that very often now do you? After you left?"

Left meaning his old manor, but he got the gist of what Eden was getting at.

"No... No not very often anymore... You're ready to go now? Spoken to everyone you wish to?" Draco asked, rubbing his hand on her arm gently when he stepped closer to her.

Now that almost made her knee's give out right then and there.

"Yes I have. Are you ready to go?"

"I've been ready to go Eden. Since we got here. Come on."

Surprisingly, throughout their whole visit, they had not run into Harry once. Not at all. Did he even know Eden was here? Surely he did not because if he did he would have 100% come ready to give her shit for leaving with Draco instead of staying here with him.

They found themselves again in that hotel room.

Although it was big it felt like it was getting smaller and smaller after staying here for so many days straight.

Eden had studied every single crack and dent in the walls, every chip in the paint... Absolutely everything. It was like it was her own home by that point.

"I'll get you something to eat. What do you want?" Draco laid flat on the bed taking in a breath of the cold air around them.

"I want to come. I want to come with you when you go."

"No Eden-"

"Yes Draco. Too long have I been locked in this room and I'll go insane if I have to go another night alone in here while I know you're outside, walking the streets and enjoying the fresh air. I won't do anything. I'll stay with you. I won't leave your side."

News flash! He ended up saying yes, the only rules being she shut her eyes when they left the room and that she stayed close, not straying too far from him.

The city was beautiful at night.

Eden almost forgot the feeling.

The coldness of the night air, the dim street lamps lighting up the busy streets of families leaving dinner or young adults joining their friends at the pubs for a few drinks.

Draco tried avoiding that for Eden. He knew it would upset her had she saw any of it, but he could only do so much to make her happy. Stopping the world around them was not in his range of abilities.

The girl tried to keep a positive face on, but what was the bloody point? Draco's seen her at her worst and she was cautious about being upset in front of him?

Yeah no.

Every restaurant they passed Eden would stare into it, looking at people who were laughing in the windows of on the patios.

Oh she truly envied them and what they had.

These people were so oblivious. It honestly made her want to laugh. There was a whole war going on high up somewhere in the mountains and these people were here enjoying a little drink or two? Hysterical.

Both Draco and Eden settled on sushi, it was easy to get and cheap to buy, though money was not a issue with Malfoy with her.

She ate quick, sitting at a bench in a busy park.

Busy...

Everywhere they went had to be busy.

If it were quiet Death Eaters would surely show up to attack her. They wouldn't get far though. Not with Draco keeping his eyes glued to her every move.

"What's your favourite colour?"

What a strange question to ask out of nowhere like that. "What?" He responded, furrowing his eyebrows and smiling just a little bit.

"What is your favourite colour. We've known each other for months now and I still don't know."

"It's red." Draco too could play the question game. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Black. It's dark. I like the dark."

"Hmm." Draco hummed, looking as she shifted over and threw the piece of plastic which once held all of her california rolls into the trash.

Since they were back on speaking terms, Eden spoke up once again. "Draco... Do you think this is going to be over soon? The war I mean. No matter who you think will win... And be honest about it."

"No I don't think it'll end soon. Now, with you having your dreams and everything, I think it'll buy The Order some time. If what you dream of proves to be the truth, they'll know how to be better and prevent people from dying. They'll take different approaches. I predict maybe 4 months from now is when it will end... But I still think we'd win. The Death Eaters I mean."

We'd... Why did he refer to them as we?

"You say we like you're on their side..."

Draco sighed and shook his head. "You know what I meant Eden. Are you ready to go? It's getting late and if we stay out for too long someone will find us."

"As if that wasn't a concern from when we walked out the doors of the lobby. What would happen to you if they found out you've been helping us?" Eden asked him curiously while she looped her arm in his and walked beside him.

"Well I'm not so much helping The Order. I'm helping you. I could care less about them. Bunch of wusses anyway."

Draco really did hate them. Probably would never grow out of that faze.

The outdoor air felt so refreshing with every breath she took. The girl was still not over that.

As they walked further out of the park, Eden began to look around at her surroundings. Empty benches, empty paths, empty area.

The park was rid of all people that were there before and it appeared as though they were the only two left...

"Draco.."

Eden's heart began to beat faster and her tiny arm slid out of his.

Draco turned his head getting a look at her.

Expression was worried, body language was uncomfortable. By all of that he knew what was happening and pulled his wand out of his pocket, looking around at the empty field in front of them.

It was used for football seeing as there were two large nets on either side, but the lights were turned off. It was completely dark aside from the street lamps lighting up the path that went around the large area of grass.

"Eden..." People were coming toward the two. Draco could see it in the outline of their shadows. They were crossing the field. "Eden get behind me."

"Why?" Her head shot toward him fearfully without noticing the people who were obviously there to harm her.

"Get behind me. Now."

She was completely useless. No wand, no stick. Nothing she could use to channel her magic. There was nothing she could do to defend herself and had Draco not been there she would have definitely ended up dead.

His arm reached behind him and he protectively wrapped it around her.

Eden could see him clenching his jaw and drawing her eyes to his hand, he squeezed his wand very tightly. The veins were protruding from under his skin.

The number of men just seemed to keep multiplying and multiplying until Draco and Eden both could see at least 8 large, strong bodies threateningly storming up to them.

"Eden Abella?!" The one in the middle put his hand up, stopping the rest of the group from going any further. "We can do this the easy way or hard way. We need you alive."

Alive?! What for? She'd rather be dead than caught by them. What could they possibly want with her alive? All of the answers were given in their next sentences.

"Have you not heard Abella. You're the Dark Lord's new target. Knows if he gets you he gets the win-"

"Yeah that and the fact that she is his soulmate."

His WHAT?!

No these men were completely delusional. They must have been making up bullshit to get under her skin... To bring her down to a level where she was so fearful she just submitted, but with Draco standing in front of her, blocking her from the aggressive men, Eden knew he wouldn't let any of them lay one finger on her.

Something began burning her hand. Not like a body ache, stinging kind of burning.

No, this felt hot.

Like she was being forced to touch a stove and couldn't take her hand off of it. Her eyes widened when she realized what was happening.

In her hand was a ball of red flames, swirling around it were white particles that looked almost like shooting stars, but it kept growing. The ball kept expanding and absorbing her engry until she forced it to stop.

This was a first.

"Is that Draco Malfoy?" They could make out his face because of the glowing red flame in her hand. "Thinking you can protect her from all of us. It's two against 8... I think you're smart enough to do the math you dirty fucking traitor. Just wait until he hears of this affair."

They boy's anger took control of his body and red sparks flew from his wand. "Crucio!" They went flying toward them, hitting one of them who fell to the floor crying out in pain like a bloody child.

That's how he knew he had this fight in the bag. Death Eaters were always more talk and less do. There was a reason why Draco was Voldemort's favourite. It was because he knew how to fight. He was smart in the knowledge section and in the duelling one too. There were always high expectations on the boy, ever since he was 12.

"Fuck that..." Draco muttered, pointing his wand at the rest of the seven standing. "Avada Kedavra!" The green flash hit the man on the floor killing him. His body turning to ash and settled into the grass of the field.

At least killing someone as a wizard was not messy...

Draco wouldn't be able to fight them all if he were standing in place shielding the girl behind him. It would be impossible and standing the way they were, one of them was sure to get hit. Despite Draco being one of the best fighters in the world at the moment, this was a tough situation to handle on his own.


	50. Memory 20

April, 1998

What the fuck is happening?

Why is my hand burning so badly?

The more Eden waited the more it hurt her, burning her skin as if it were nothing.

A red spark came hurdling toward them and Draco's arm quickly pushed her to the side, making her lose her balance and almost fall over, but she caught herself before anything could be done.

Why must this be happening now?

What did the ball in her hand mean?

So many questions that were going unanswered.

All of a sudden, while Draco ran off to go fight off 5 other Death Eaters, Eden could see who was approaching. Two men, one on each side.

Her hand shot up to the right— seeing as the ball of red fire was her right hand— and her body was flung back slightly as the burning stopped and a sudden shouting could be heard.

The girl was on the floor now. The force from whatever she just did knocked her over.

"What the fuck?!"

Her head whipped to the other Death Eater who was on her left.

Eyes locking on his, she followed his gaze to her left hand where another flame of red was beginning to enlarge.

Eden's hand shot up to the left now, gaining more control over the new found power.

She was casting curses from her hands.

The magic did not need to be channeled through her wand... She was channeling it through her emotions and rage.

It was a defensive thing.

If she did not feel threatened in that moment, the flames would have never appeared.

The girl could not believe her eyes. She was casting spells out of her bloody hands for crying out loud!

Only the most powerful wizards could do stuff like that and she by no means thought she was in any way a powerful wizard.

Everything came crushing down on her when she got slammed to the ground hard. Hard enough that if she did not land the way she did she would have broken her spine against the lamppost she hit.

The impact her head made with the ground made her feel dizzy.

Easily Eden could have just gotten up, but the two large hands wrapped around her throat were preventing her from doing so.

She was losing air.

Just like that time in the alley those few months ago.

"Do you think the Dark Lord would want you dead or alive? I suppose alive hmm? Too bad you won't have the same fate as Ginny Weasley..."

That was what the other Death Eater said to her.

It kept replaying in her brain as her nails dug into the hands of whoever was strangling her.

He wasn't coming this time was he?

Draco wasn't going to get her out of this one...

Eden was too unfocused and caught off guard to conjure any magic from her hands and the girl barely knew how to use this new found power yet. This was all new to her.

Well, not new for long because at the rate she was going she would die from lack of oxygen in just a few moments.

She gasped for air, feeling her eyes shut though she was trying to keep them open.

If this was how she went out, that would be extremely shitty and embarrassing... At least she thought it would be.

"He said he needed you alive didn't he... Well death comes to little brats who think they can get in the way of plans hm? Where's Harry Potter? Where is the safe house..?"

Eden was unresponsive. "You're useless."

Yeah obviously she was useless. The man had his hands preventing her from speaking at all aside from her little stutters that went along with her lost air.

"S-St-"

The burning was back, both hands this time. She felt the power growing inside of her despite how powerless she felt in that moment.

The sparks were green this time, hitting the man on his side. She could finally breathe again, gasping for the air she just previously longed for.

Attention was quickly turned to Draco who was blocking spells from another wizard, shooting counter curses over and over again. He was actually struggling.

From behind Draco, Eden could make out another figure walking toward him in his blind spot.

Draco couldn't see him.

He couldn't protect himself.

Ignoring all of the pain she felt from hitting the floor, she stood up and started to make her way to the man who thought he was so clever.

"You get away from him NOW!" Her voice was sharp, sending the flame out of her hand, this time a streak connected her hand to the spell. When it hit him he fell to the floor yelling out in pain as everyone else did, but something was different about this time.

Eden had control over what she did.

Draco's final spell killed the man he was fighting and he quickly looked over to see what was happening before him.

The light, the spell, the way she was shooting it from her freaking hand- Even he was in shock.

Her hand twisted to the side watching as it only made the man feel worse pain. A small smile quirked onto his face while watching him suffer.

Something about the way he screamed made her feel like she'd accomplished something.

"Eden.. Eden please stop! I- I won't tell him I saw you, or Draco-"

"You won't? Well that's too fucking BAD!" When closing her hand something snapped in the man... No literally something snapped and he died on the spot.

Atta girl..

Draco thought as a smirk formed on his face. Turning to go deal with the other two Death Eaters Eden was left on the floor, she took a moment to examine the man she just killed.

Blood was dripping out of his nose, ears and eyes like tears streaming down his cheeks. What had she done to him?

Guilt was coming fast and she left like she couldn't breathe. If she even opened her mouth a cry would escape her and the tears would start and probably not stop for a long time.

The final ashes of the body in front of her sunk into the ground a few minutes later and Draco gripped her hand, taking her back to the room by apparation.

"Jesus Eden that was insane-"

Adrenaline was pumping through her body and her panting was slowing down now that they were in the room, safe from any danger.

Suddenly her hand slid to the back of his neck, pulling him down far enough so that she could plant her lips on his.

It was intense, passionate even and Draco picked up quickly on what was happening.

His arms wrapped around her body, pulling her right against him and running one hand through the bottom of her hair, which was just hitting the small of her back.

Hesitantly Eden began to tug at the bottom of his sweater as his lips travelled down to her neck, allowing her to look down at his stomach.

It was hard to initiate this... With Harry it had always been no problem because they were soulmates. Harry was comfortable doing whatever she wanted with him.

With Draco it was different. She didn't know his boundaries yet. What he was and wasn't comfortable with and the same thing was running through his mind as his threw his shirt over his head and connected their again.

Eden's hands very gently dragged across his chest and down to his abs. She never realized how chiselled they were.

Draco was a work of art...

He pulled away quickly, not separating anything but their lips. "You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Draco it's not like you're taking my virginity-"

His mind blocked out anything else she had to say. 

It was true.

He was not the first one she'd slept with... But after he was done with her, it would definitely feel that way. Especially after that little reminder she just gave him.

Something about the thought of another man looking at her, feeling her... The thought that someone else has thought about her— more than just one person actually— in the way he did right then... It got under his skin.

"Jump for me." The whisper against her ear sent goosebumps all up her arms and legs. It was more of a command than a question, but Eden did it either way, wrapping her arms around his neck gladly while his hands held her thighs so she wouldn't fall.

That was where he took control over what they were doing, just like they both wanted.

Draco liked being in control in everything he did. If he wasn't he would feel threatened and though sex wasn't something to be threatened by, he would still make it a challenge.

At the edge of the bed. He put Eden down, sticking his knee between her legs and wedging them far enough apart so that he could stand between them.

Draco then pulled her shirt over her head, slid off her runners and then pulled her jeans off of her legs. There was a pile of her clothes off to the right and soon, Draco's clothes joined it.

Now they both found themselves in their underwear.

When she wasn't expecting it, he got back between her legs, leaning down and connecting their lips passionately while pushing her down onto the bed slowly.

Eden shifted upward toward the pillows and he stalked her closely until he grabbed her hips and flipped them onto the side.

While Draco was caressing her hair, chills went up her spine as his other hand was sliding to the clip of her bra, ever so gently unclipping it and sliding the strap off of her right shoulder.

"Draco..."

It couldn't wait. She had to tell him now.

"Shh. Whatever you need to say can wait until later, I'm not going anywhere..."

He pulled her arm out of the strap while Eden herself worked on the left arm, throwing her bra to the side right after she got it off of her shoulder.

"Draco-"

"What did I tell you-"

"I love you."

It caught him off guard that's for sure.

Draco's hand on her bare waist froze and his eyes narrowed toward her, but he quickly resumed power over himself to pull her against him.

"I love you Draco..."

It was all so sudden.

Her eyes looked so fearful... Fearful that he was not going to say it back. That he did not love her the way she loved him, but if anything he loved her more. Probably way more than she thought.

No. Not probably. It was something to be certain of.

"You look scared." Was all he said to her.

"Yeah... Scared that you don't love me back."

What was this nonsense?

His hold on her tightened and a small gasp escaped her lips.

"You think I don't love you? Have I not made it clear by the way I look at you, by the way I touch you and protect you?" He was not mad at her, just genuinely curious.

"People have done all those things to me before and still ended up fucking me over."

She has trust issues...

And Draco understood why after observing her for all of these months. Everyone in her life was unreliable, selfish and conceited.

He'd always been careful not to be like that toward her.

"Well, I'm not those people am I love..?" The girl was silent, still looking into Draco's eyes searching for an answer, though he gave one to her before she could find it. "Of course I love you. I love you more than words can describe and more than actions can show."

His thumb caressed her hip comfortingly, though she didn't want comfort right now.

She wanted him.

When their lips collided again there were no more interruptions. They both successfully pulled their underwear off, now being completely naked.

Again, taking control of her, Draco flipped them over so that she was underneath him again. Her hands shot right to his shoulders from the suddenness.

That didn't last long though.

Draco grabbed her wrists and pinned them by her head then without warning he thrusted into her, watching all her nerves leave her body, being replaced with pure pleasure.

Her eyes were shut tight and she tried to move her wrists, but being held down she couldn't. That was not much of a problem though, it wasn't like she was trying to stop him.

Draco quickly found things that Eden liked and took note of it. She liked when he kept a steady pace, not too fast but not too slow. She liked when he kissed her jaw making a trail down to her collarbone. She loved being kissed on her shoulders.

That was a soft spot.

Draco extended his index and middle fingers to her palms, finally allowing her to hold onto something as she moaned and whimpered from all he was doing to her.

"Dra- Fuck Draco!" Her slightly shaking legs wrapped around his hips and her head was thrown back against the pillow, stretched upward with her eyes shut tightly.

"You can scream all you want Eden. No one can hear us." He smirked. Draco knew she heard him, but she was feeling to much luxury to answer him. All she did was smile for a moment before trying to shut her legs.

Why did she do that?

She didn't want him to stop.

She wanted him to keep going.

Eden looked down to where he was pounding her and then back into his black looking eyes while her hands closed tighter around his fingers.

"What? Tell me what you want. I'll do whatever you want me to Eden.."

"Faster..." She mumbled. "Faster."

Her back was arching, hitting his stomach and she was beginning to squirm.

Draco stopped her quickly, putting more pressure on her body from his own being on top of her's.

"What's the magic word?"

"Please! Please just go faster Draco." Her eyes fluttered shut and as he picked up the pace to her liking, she completely let go of his fingers and turned her head to the side letting a quiet yet loud moan escape her lips.

He took the opportunity to get to the crook of her neck.

"Draco I think- I think I'm going to come..."

"Do it then. Come for me."

His hands moved from her wrists and a groan escaped his mouth while he got on his elbows. Draco's hands got tangled in her hair and Eden's arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling his body against hers. Eden's back arched and she released with a cry, legs shaking and all.

"Do you want me to stop Eden?"

"No. No keep going."

"I-I'm close. Just a few more minutes."

Eden's legs were shaking by the time he came on her stomach and laid down beside her, wrapping his arms around her small, weak body.

"Did you like that?" He asked, looking down into her tired eyes. If he gave her the chance she probably would have fallen asleep in a matter of a few seconds.

While panting, the girl nodded and placed her hands on his chest for support.

"Do you want to take a shower?"

"Yeah... Yeah I do."

"Come here." He sat up, pulling her into his arms and picking her up.

Draco carried her to the bathroom where he got into the shower with her and helped her wash off.

They boy refused to let her be in there alone even when she said she was fine with or without him there.

She looked so tired though... All he wanted to do was be there for her. Let her know that he didn't just see her as a body and that he was willing to help her afterward.

Eden was fast asleep when her head hit the pillow, but Draco couldn't find it in him to do the same.

For most of the night he laid awake caressing her cheek, switching between watching the tv and the girl who laid in his arms, with her arms around his torso.

She was using him as her pillow with her head resting on his bare chest, but he found it cute.

She looked so beautiful when she slept. Draco knew it was an insecurity of hers, but she was so gorgeous no matter what she was doing even if she couldn't see that.

The next morning, Eden was the first to wake up and just by looking at the under eye bags on him, she knew Draco had gotten no sleep the night prior.

The position they were in was too comfortable to move from. The warmth is his body made her feel comfortable and well... Warm.

The hotel room was usually freezing cold.

When she got up from the bed for the first time she noticed her clothes from the night before still on the right side of the bed.

It didn't take long for Draco to meet her in the bathroom while she brushed her teeth. The feeling of her not there with him anymore woke him.

"Did you get any sleep last night? You look like a mess."

"You look like a mess." He smiled at her through the mirror and watched her finish up her teeth. "I have some things to do today... Can I trust you won't go running off like you tend to do."

"Where are you going?"

"Voldemort's castle."

Eden's head whipped around and her heart almost skipped a beat.

What would he possibly need to do at Voldemort's castle? That was where he lived. That was where he planned..

"He told me last minute yesterday. I'm not sure what he wants with me yet."

Draco had never been to the Dark Lord's castle. Not once since he became a Death Eater...

But everyone knew you go there for one of two things:  
1\. Execution  
2\. Promotion  
Nothing in between.

"D-Do you think he knows-"

Draco grabbed her shaky hand and shook his head. "Don't think about it Eden. I'll be fine. I'll see you after I'm finished. It shouldn't take me that long."

"How long? How long should I wait if you don't come back?"

No faith whatsoever...

Draco could not blame her though. The Dark Lord was a powerful man. Anyone and everyone feared him no matter how much they denied it.

"I'll be back. I promise."

There they went with the promises. Making some that they could not even guarantee.

Eden had this uneasy feeling in her stomach... Like something horrible was about to happen, but she brushed it off as nerves.

A unsteady breath left her lips and she looked down at his pale hands holding her's and caressing the top of them with his thumb. "Be safe for me."


	51. Memory 21

April, 1998

The gates opened wide, they led up a pathway. At the end was a door.

Draco was still trying to take it all in.

How could a place look this beautiful while also looking so horrid at the same time. It was Voldemort's. That's what made it ugly. All the darkness surrounding it was what made it feel so disturbing.

The faster he got it done the faster he could return back to Eden.

That was the only person he wanted to see. Just her. No one else.

He wanted nothing more than to hold her, especially after seeing her so shaken that morning. The worried look she wore on her face rubbed off on him and if he had any choice he would not have come here at all.

But unfortunately he did not have a choice since if he did he would be in trouble. Perhaps not killed seeing as he was such an important asset to the Death Eaters, but punished 100%.

Burning, cutting, beating, whipping, shocking. That was all on the table.

He'd seen it done before.

The room he was escorted into was ginormous. The floor was shiny, the lighting was dim and at the end of the room, across from the door, there was a throne. On it sat the man he dreaded seeing, beside him was his little snake.

Nagini?

Draco could not remember the name off the top of his head.

The further he walked in the colder the feeling got.

White pillars ran from the floor all the way up to the ceiling, the walls were black. There was a skylight at the top of the room, which was providing most of the light, but it was cloudy and raining that day.

"Draco Malfoy. I'm so glad you showed up.." Voldemort stood from the seat, walking down the small flight of stairs from the alter his throne was on. "You've heard about what happened last night? With Eden Abella? I would hope your father would have told you."

God his heart was beating so fast.

If the Dark Lord could see through Draco's chest or had some kind of super hearing, the boy would have so been caught and killed...

Keep it together Draco. Lie about what you know. It is not that hard.

"My Lord, my father and I don't live with each other anymore... I have not spoken to him in weeks."

"How very interesting... Well, the girl was at a park yesterday, alone. How stupid of her right... Or was she not alone?" Voldemort's sharp nails almost ripped a piece of Draco's jacket.

This is it.

I'm going to die.

"I'm not sure my Lord. I'm only just hearing about this now-"

"What is peculiar is that she did not have a wand on her... She used her hands... Her own. Bloody. Hands. Have you seriously not heard about this? No one came to tell you of the strange occurrence?"

"No one exactly knows where I'm staying. I keep moving. Staying in one place for too long is dangerous. The Order has attempted to attack me many times. I suppose Potter has a vendetta against me." Draco lied straight through his teeth. His face was calm and relaxed, lips thin in a straight line and his eyes were looking straight into Voldemort's.

Eye contact showed confidence.

"If that is the case. You do not mind if I check do you? It would be a shame if a Malfoy like yourself is lying to me... Their Lord."

"I have nothing to hide my Lord."

Oh boy...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CRACK!

Eden went still, looking up from the book she was reading. The Great Gatsby. Just something she found in Draco's things.

No one stood in front of her. No one was in here.

That was until she heard him. His panting started to pick up, his quiet groans were getting louder. The edge of the bed was what was covering Eden from seeing who it was that apparated into the room.

Yet there he was.

Draco was on the floor. Badly beaten... Blood was falling down the side of his face, his hand was completely shattered and broken, his body looked weak.

She gasped, throwing the book down onto the bed and rushing over to him, getting down onto the floor beside him. He was clenching his stomach tightly, but when he pulled it away she could see the fresh blood covering his palm.

"Jesus..." Quickly, Eden grabbed her wand from the bedside table, holding it up to the broken bones in his left hand...

That was his dominant hand. Without it he would not be able to cast spells, write, do anything really. Was that on purpose? Who did this to him?

"Brackium Emendo." A light blue colour flashed for a moment before Draco started yelling in pain. "I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I-It will only hurt for a second.."

Her hands were shaking when she reached down to lift his shirt. Knowing whatever was under the fabric was not going to be pretty made it scarier to look at.

"Stop! Stop Eden!" His right hand held onto her wrist tightly. "Don't t-touch it. There is dark- There is dark magic."

What did they do to him at that fucking castle?!

"I'll do it." Draco lifted his only free hand to the bottom of the shirt, lifting it up and relaxing his body after knowing his shirt was high enough for her to treat. "I t-think it's eating away from the inside out..."

Tears were welling up in her eyes.

She had not the slightest idea of what to do. This wasn't her thing. Healing was never her thing actually.

Never.

She was not going to tell Draco that though. It would only make him worry and that was the last thing he needed in this situation.

"I need Hermione."

The boy began to cough. "No! No E-Eden don't-"

"I can't help you without her! I need her to do this. I don't know what I'm doing. I-I'll make it worse."

"Do NOT Eden!"

The choice was between letting him die a slow and painful death or letting him survive but be mad at her for taking him to Hermione.

One option outweighed the other by a lot.

Eden shut her eyes, grabbing hold of his leg as it was the only part of his body that was not serious injured and the two were out of there, back to the safe house they went.

Hermione came running out as soon as she caught wind of what was happening. The only words she needed to hear was Eden is a mess. That would have sent her running.

Fred and George took charge of carrying him inside slowly but surely while Eden wiped the blood off of her hand and onto her jeans.

It took a total of 7 days before Eden could see him again. 7 whole days without him, knowing he was somewhere else in the house on the verge of dying...

Hermione told everyone at the dinner table that she'd never seen anything like it. The amount of dark magic should have killed him instantly.

The most she told Eden was that he was safe and that he would survive, but that information could only sooth her for so long. Night's were spent alone sitting in her temporary bedroom, days were spent alone sitting outside of the hospital wing of the house.

Often, Draco asked for her. She heard it all the time.

His raspy voice begging Madam Pomfrey; but it was always a firm no. Always with the 'you need rest Malfoy' excuse too.

Madam Pomfrey always took a disliking to Draco, that was a known fact, but seriously? Not even for a moment would she let Eden in. It was just annoying.

By their 10th night, Draco was finally allowed to leave the hospital wing, though he couldn't leave the house. He needed to stay here until his wounds were completely healed, reason being because no one had ever seen an infection that bad. They wanted to monitor it to make sure it was gone for good and would not be making any returns.

Of course Draco threw a fit about the orders he was given, but there was nothing he or Eden or anyone in the house could do about it.

He wasn't even strong enough to apparate yet so even if he was allowed to leave he could not.

Still to that day, Draco didn't Eden her what happened. He refused to, even though she begged him to. It sucked because he was truly embarrassed by it.

"Just tell me. There's nothing for you to worry about! I'm not going to tell anyone!" Eden exclaimed while her eyes followed Draco back and forth as he paced in front of her. "Are you embarrassed? Is that the problem?"

"No! I just can't!"

"Why not?!"

"He's told me to kill you! I said no, that's why this all happened! For christ's sake... I'm not going to kill you! He's crazy if he thinks I'm going to do that for him. I don't care how many beatings I must take or how many times my life is put in danger. I am not laying a fucking finger on you! You're not replaceable!"

"Neither are you!" Tears were ready to spill, creating a glossy look over her eyes. "You're not replaceable either! One of us has to go, it might as well be the one that has nothing left."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT EDEN! I will not let you sacrifice yourself for ME OF ALL PEOPLE! You're completely mad if you thought for a second you'd convince me into killing you."

"So should I do it myself then? Get someone else to do it? You won't even need to do it you just need to take credit-"

His eyes looked black from where she was standing. "Are you psychotic Abella?! ARE YOU?! If anyone so much as tried to kill you I would sure as hell kill them first. I swear I better not see you trying to fucking die. I won't let you. I won't allow it." He stormed over her her and gripped her wrists tightly. "Do I make myself clear when I say you will not ask ANYONE for help in this sadistic plan of yours. If I catch wind of it, I swear to god Eden, I will kill the last things you fucking love on this earth. Is that clear?!"

At the rate they were going Draco would die of a heart attack before he could do any of the things he said he would.

Eden's jaw clenched and she yanked her wrists out of his hands. "Crystal clear... But what are you going to do when you go back empty handed? What's going to happen then? You'll die? I'll be here? What is the point?"

"You can't use my bloody logic against me. That's not how that works."

"Oh but I can. If you die, I will destroy everything you love-"

Draco laughed of amusement and started to pace back and forth again. "That's funny because the only thing I love is standing right in front of me, saying she'll kill herself for me.. I love you Eden!" He turned to look at her. "And so be it if I need to return from the dead to save your life because I will NEVER let you sacrifice your life for me. NEVER!"

A red tint appeared on her cheeks as she stared blankly at Draco who just went on and on to her.

"You are too important to me. You are too important to anyone you meet! You have a life ahead of you. I'm not taking it away from you just like that-"

"You kill people who have a life ahead of them every day Draco. How are them and I any different-"

"BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT YOU EDEN! I don't give a flying fuck about them and what they do and how they die..! I don't care!"

Draco paused, looking toward the girl sitting on the edge of the bed. Just by the look on her face, he could sense exactly what she was thinking about him...

"You think I'm selfish? Well I am. I don't care about anyone else but myself and YOU."

At least he was honest.

"So what are we going to do then? What are we going to do so that both of us are happy in the end?" Eden was still hopeful at the thought that they would get through it and figure something out, but the ugly truth was that one of them either died or one of them ran away. No other option.

"There isn't much we can do. I've already thought all about it. I've spent 10 days alone in that bloody room by myself, nothing will work. Polyjuice only lasts an hour, even on a dead body, so that would not work, hiding also isn't an option. Voldemort is smarter than anyone thinks, he'll find out one way or another. I- I just..."

Draco's heart was beating too fast and he felt like at any moment he would have a heart attack form how badly it pained his chest...

"The thought of killing him crossed my mind too, but the amount of people who would be after me for that. Imagine, a Death Eater killing the Lord he was supposed to be loyal to-"

She rolled her eyes and stood up straight. "So be loyal then!"

"NO! You will not die at my hands! Have I not made that clear enough for you Eden?!"

Draco shouted so loudly the room shook and just a few seconds later there were knocks at the door, worried knocks.

Eden was the one to open the door seeing Hermione standing right outside with her wand clutched in her right hand.

She smiled softly at her friend and looked past her shoulder to see Draco pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to get himself together to refrain from punching a hole in the wall.

"I heard screaming, I just thought I would come and see if everything was fine in here?"

Eden started with a smile on her face, "Everything is fine-"

But Draco quickly cut her off and locked his eyes onto Hermione wand. "Well I don't plan on killing her right now Granger. Do you think I'm deranged?"

"I see your attitude has not changed Malfoy... Eden, I'll be on my way. If you need me for anything just shout and I'll be here."

"Again Granger, not planning on fucking murdering her-"

Eden snapped her fingers behind her back to get him to shut up and still kept the smile on her face, though it was slowly turning faker with every second she needed to hold it. "Thanks Mione... I'll see you later on."

Hermione left after Eden shut the door and she turned back to Draco. "You need to cut it out." She walked over to him and put her hands on his upper arms, rubbing them gently. "We still have a long time to think about what we'll end up doing, so stop putting all this pressure on yourself tonight and relax."

He liked the way her hands were positioned on him. They gave a comforting feeling when she moved them up and down... But the longer he thought about how amazing she made him feel, the more he thought about the task he was assigned.

"I can't.. I cant relax when you're right here... I don't want to hurt you Eden. If I do that I'll never be able to live with myself-"

"Stop... Don't think about it." She began to pull him closer to the bed until he laid down on the left side; Eden on the right. "Sleep it off. I'll be here when you wake up. You haven't slept in days."

It was nice of her to try and divert his attention away from the thing that was bothering him the most, but sleeping it off was not an option. Every moment he was with her or beside her or holding her, the only thing that came to mind was those words that left Voldemort's foul mouth.

"You're to kill Eden Abella whether you'd like to or not! Your father would be appalled by this behaviour of yours."

And of course he brought his father into it. Knowing that was Draco's weak spot did not make it easier for him to be a Death Eater.

"You've tried so hard all your life to impress him Draco... Don't let this little brat reverse all the impact you've made..."

Eden spent a long time trying to distract him. She laid with him while he read, allowing him to lean his head on her chest. Her fingers combed through his hair softly, which messed it up, but he really did not care. It felt nice having her do that.

Nights were quite boring at the house, occasionally, Eden would drink a bit, but she spent more time with the kids than anything.

Draco stood at the frame of the door watching her play with the kids, colour with them, even play piano and dance with them.

She'd never had a soft spot for children until she returned to the safe house. They were so young... Doing all of this... It must have been so much pressure on them and they were still so tiny.

Almost every time Eden would leave the kids room on the first floor, she was crying. They were missing the best part about growing up all because of the war and it seemed like she was the only one who cared about their wellbeing.

Harry was rarely ever around, but that wasn't new. Hermione worked for the day, but not even after she finished did she ever check up on them.

Their parents must be so worried for them. Losing a child that young...

It always made Eden smile through her tears when she'd return back to the room to hear Draco tell her "You'll be an amazing mother in the future. I just know it." He truly didn't know how much that meant to her.


	52. Memory 22

May, 1998

"Eden... Eden wake up..."

"Harry?" Her eyes shot open and she sat up slightly making sure to be careful enough not to wake Draco whose arm was wrapped around her body.

"We need you right now."

For what could they need her for at 5 am? She furrowed her eyebrows and awaited another answer out of the boy standing in front of her.

"We need you to come fight with us. We're down by plenty and a night attack on the castle might be able to equal out our sides. Please... Fred told me what you told him about your magic. How you could do it with your hands. We need yo-"

"She's not going anywhere near that place Potter." Draco leaned over her and pulled her tighter to his body. Eyes were icy cold when he looked at Harry and his face was so serious.. If looks could kill... "I'll go for her."

"You'd attack the castle?" Harry asked in a completely astonished tone.

"Look at where I'm staying. If I were on their side I would have burnt this ugly place to the ground already and killed every single one of you. So yes. I would attack the bloody castle."

So much attitude for running off of 3 hours of sleep.

Harry walked out of the room saying he'd wait for Draco outside the room, but the screaming and yelling from down the hall was what freaked Eden out.

Her head whipped around to Draco. The look he was giving was telling her not to go, but the shouting only got louder and louder the more she stared into his eyes.

Eden had to see what was happening. Whoever it was screaming down the hall was not older. He cried and cried for the people around him to stop.

"EDEN!" The boy shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Eden do not... It is not your problem to deal with-"

She ran out of the room and sped down the hall to see who it was that was calling so fearfully for her.

"Colin! Stop this behaviour!" Ron shouted at him as he dragged him by his tiny hand toward the staircase.

Colin Burke...

"RONALD!" Eden shouted and ripped his hand off of the young boy. "You're handling this completely wrong-"

"He's not cooperating!" He shouted over her. "What else am I supposed to do!?"

"HE'S A CHILD YOU ARSE!"

Draco stuck his head out of the room watching Eden bend down beside Colin and yell at Ron, then he looked toward Harry and walked back into the room to change into something he could fight in.

Ron watched with wide eyes while Eden pulled the young boy to the side and got down onto her knee's to be at eye level with him.

Putting two and two together was not an issue for her. The fighting, Harry being in such a panic. They were forcing him to go and fight with them. That was the problem. "What's wrong? Tell me I'll help."

"They're making me fight! I don't want to go... Please don't make me go!"

Those words made her heart shatter into a million tiny pieces. How was she supposed to tell this boy he had no choice... This was not something she could just shield him from.

"Colin..." Eden paused looking down at the floor and then back up to him. "Listen to me Colin. You're one of the strongest boys I know. You're brave and courageous. You can do anything you want. You are so powerful too! Do you remember the spells you were showing me the other day in the school room? You disarmed everyone in there, even me."

The boy found comfort in her words and smile and he was already starting to relax, just a few hiccups here and there. Poor boy was shaking terribly.

"So I'll make you a promise. When you come back from where they're taking you, I'll bring you something... What's your favourite snack ever. Like in the whole entire world?"

"Bread with c- chocolate chips.."

A genuine smile appeared on her face when he said that.

"I promise you I'll bring you some when you come back. I know this amazing place. I'll get some for you and we can have some together. That's my favourite snack too... How does that sound?"

Colin nodded his head and wiped his tear stained cheeks.

Yeah no.

Eden couldn't let this happen to him.

She was going to stop this one way or another. She was going to get him out. His anxiety was through the roof and a clouded mind basically meant death on a battlefield.

Eden slightly leaned in so that it was only Colin who could hear her. "When you're fighting, I'll come and help you. You won't be alone. Now go on. I'll meet you there." She whispered, sending him back to Ron who was a little less rough with him, but still grabbed him incase he made a run for it.

She needed to get ready.

She was going to fight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was definitely different fighting on the side of the Order... For Draco's safety, they made him wear a mask, but if Eden weren't there pushing it they would have let everyone see and report back to the Dark Lord.

He would have been killed immediately.

Suddenly, green sparks and flashes caught his attention.

The little boy from earlier, he was struggling. His wand had just been disarmed and he laid flat on his back with blood streaming from his nose.

Draco's eyes locked with the Death Eater who did all of that to him, immediately being hit with his thoughts.

He'd be a great addition. I'll take him back to the Dark Lord. Perhaps having a younger Order member would be beneficial in making Harry come to the castle...

The thoughts abruptly stopped and when Draco snapped back into it he looked toward whoever just shot him with a killing curse.

"Colin... Can you hear me?!" Eden shook the boys shoulder thinking the absolute worst. "Colin?!"

Draco was more shocked than anything. He couldn't move, he couldn't step closer. He was frozen staring at her.

She was a complete idiot! Seeing her on the field enraged him and his jaw clenched tightly.

Finally he regained the power to storm over, but he was not the only one making their way to her and the little boy.

A female Death Eater grabbed Eden by her hair and tore her off of Colin, holding her wand under her chin and smirking like a overconfident bitch at her.

His hand drew his wand at the same time Eden sent a Crucio curse flying from her wand, hitting the girl and making her scream out in agony.

"You fucking BITCH!" Eden held the spell on her, and stood over her smiling at how stupid she looked now that she wasn't so confident. The red stopped being replaced with a quick flash of white. "Sectumsempra!"

Though her clothes were black the sounds of her breath slowing indicated that Eden killed her.

"ABELLA!" Draco boomed.

"Shit..."

"ABELLA STOP!" He gripped her wrist and threw the mask off of his face, not caring who saw him or what they would do. By the way he was holding her and scarily looking into her eyes, any Death Eater would just think he was about to kill her anyway. No one would even bat an eye. "What the FUCK are you DOING HERE?!"

"YOU EXPECTED ME TO SIT IN THAT ROOM WHILE EVERYONE WAS HERE?! I CAN HANDLE MYSELF! I'M NOT A FIVE YEAR OLD DRACO!" Her arm went up and without even looking toward the Death Eater that was coming their way, she killed them. "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK WHAT YOU WANT DRACO- Wait.. WAIT!" She pushed him off of her and looked at a place on the soil. "Colin..."

He was gone.

Not dead, just gone.

"Draco..."

"Get the fuck out of here! NOW EDEN!"

Her hand balled up into a fist and she looked up at the castle which was still someways up the hill. "Fuck off." She cussed looking dead into Draco's eyes.

Before she could apparate away Draco reached his hand out and caught hold of her hand, going with her up the mountain.

They both fell to the floor when they reappeared next to the gates. That was as far Eden could travel considering they had an anti-apparation enchantment on the place, just like the safe house.

"EDEN!" Draco pinned her wrists down onto the floor so suddenly she gasped and a ball of red formed into her hands, but it slowly died out after realizing the person she would have Crucioed was Draco. "I'm not fucking kidding-" His hands squeezed her wrists tighter out of anger. "YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING LISTEN TO ME! GO. BACK!"

She tried to kick the back of his leg with the heel of her foot, but he quickly reacted and put his knee down on both of her thighs, restraining her from any more sudden movements.

"LISTEN TO ME!"

"NO!"

"Draco?"

Both of them turned their heads to look in the direction of the gate, one looking more horrified than the other.

Blaise.

A friend of Draco's...

A loyal Death Eater...

Eden put it together in her head.

"You've got her then? Good for you. You should bring her to the castle. She can't use her magic in there."

"You're right..." Draco looked down at her with dead eyes, then roughly picked her up and held her arms behind her back.

His eyes looked too emotionless, like everything he was just feeling was fake.

He took her wand from her right hand and shoved it into his pocket. "I'm taking her to the Dark Lord now actually."

Her heart began to beat faster than ever before and she almost collapsed onto the floor. Surely he wouldn't let this happen. He wouldn't let the Dark Lord touch her.

Right?

Blaise opened the gate allowing them to go in and as soon as she knew it she was inside of Voldemort's castle, staring at the pictures and walls as both Draco and Blaise walked with her to the the man himself.

Draco's grip was tight on her wrists, painfully tight, and for a moment she thought he did all of this on purpose. He was too serious... Too rough... This wasn't an act at all was it?

It might have been like Hermione said. Draco was on the dark side this whole time, only using Eden to get information for the Dark Lord. That injury was all planned, everything was planned. He slept with her... He fucking slept with her, got close to her, killed for her, and she was clueless this whole time.

At the end of the hallway was a door, a large one, painted grey. It looked grand, it looked royal even.

That was where he was.

Voldemort was in there.

The amount of dark magic Eden could feel around her.

How did he live like this? This was horrible.

The closer they got the more she hesitated.

"I'll go get Pansy. She'd want to see this." Blaise turned down a right corridor and left Draco and Eden alone now.

Pansy... Was Pansy part of this too?

Eden wouldn't be surprised.

Her teeth began to chatter.

"Draco-"

"Shut the fuck up Abella!" Draco's left hand grabbed the back of her neck, applying a strong amount of pressure. Still he held her wrists together and behind her back. "Do you realize how horrible it has been needing to spend every second for the past seven months with you? Do you understand how amusing it was to watch you fall for me, as if someone like me would ever fall for someone like you."

She was so stupid. How could she let this happen?

How did she not realize?

That was the least of her worries in that moment though.

She was about to die.

Pushing the door open, Draco let go of her, pushing her to the floor.

That was when everyone's attention turned to her.

Everyone including Voldemort.

Sure she'd seen him before, though this time was different. It was different because he would kill her. She had no way of defending herself, Harry wasn't here, no one was. She was alone and useless without her wand.

"I've brought her here my Lord. Thought maybe you'd like to watch."

"Eden Abella. Is that really her?" He stepped down the throne, speeding up his pace and kneeling in front of her. "And she's crying... How pathetic!" Hysterical laughter first started with him and then took over the whole room.

"Now that we've got you, the rest will fall in line..." His hand under her chin was cold, dead like, and he was so pale that he looked like a light shade of grey. Being this close to him was a first... But it was about to be her last too.

His eyes were piercing her's looking into her mind just as Draco did when they first started speaking. "Colin? Draco who is Colin?" Voldemort stood, letting her head fall downward when he dragged his hand out from her chin.

"A young boy. That is why she came so close to the gate Lord, she was trying to find him."

Damn Draco, you going to tell him how my vagina feels too you little suck up?

Eden thought to herself and clenched her jaw tightly out of anger. There was actually nothing she could do to get out.

"Ah yes, Colin... Well I think you'd be please to know Eden," He looked down at her. "We have him just in the other room... Perhaps you would like to see him? I would assume so, I'm not that much of a monster... I'll let you have one last good memory before you die."

Die Die Die. Like she got it, she was going to die. No need to rub it in any further.

"Take her will you Draco? To the room with all prisoners. He should be there. If not he's already dead."

Horror struck her like a swing of a bat to her head.

Draco grabbed her once again this time just with his hand behind her neck and listened to what he was ordered to do.

They entered a new room.

The moment the door opened screaming and crying came from it. Boys and girls, adults and children as young as 7. They were crying.

He attached her hands to come kinds of restrains and handed her off to another Death Eater who stood at the door. After that he left. 

With her hands shaking and her tears streaming down her face, she began to look around the room at who else was in there... If anyone she knew was in there.

That's when it hit her.

Lavender, Luna, Angelina... They all lined the walls around her waiting their turn... 

Colin screaming in pain and agony while heartless Death Eaters whipped him like an animal.

Eden dreamed this. This was what she saw in her dream. She predicted this and not only did she do that, but she could have avoided it.

"EDEN!" He shouted from the floor, looking at her and reaching his hand out as if he was trying to grab her.

"No... NO PLEASE!" Eden screamed trying to go at the people doing this to him. "He's just a child! PLEASE STOP IT!"

The child's screams were echoing throughout the whole room.

All she could do was watch, wishing she could do more for him instead of just screaming and crying "stop" over and over again.

She was regretting coming here... But if she hadn't come Colin would have been alone and she would not have known the harsh truth about Draco and how he really felt about her.

"EDEN PLEASE!"

He didn't deserve this. No one deserved this.

"LET HIM GO! PLEASE JUST LET HIM GO-"

A hand impacted her cheek slapping her across the face. That was the final straw. That was what made her burst into tears, losing control of her breathing. Not from the pain, but rather the fact that she couldn't do anything to help the boy who was so desperately calling out for her to save him.

But when she opened her eyes, she was no longer in the room full of people awaiting to be tortured. It was quiet, sounds of cars honking and ambulances speeding down streets was what she heard now.

The shackles around her wrists were yanked off of her and she looked up into the eyes of the person who brought her there...


	53. Memory 23

May, 1998

"I'm so sorry. I'm so fucking sorry." His hand caressed her face where he just slapped her. "I didn't mean any of it- I didn't mean anything I said."

"Stop Draco!"

She was already gone, her hand was on her sternum and she was trying to desperately to grab her breath again.

"You fucking- You- You fucking asshole!" Eden threw her hands toward him, pushing his chest hard enough to make him stumble backward. "You made me watch them KILL HIM!"

"He's not dead Eden. They're not going to kill him-"

"BUT THEY ARE! Did you see what they were doing to him?! Oh god I think I'm going to puke."

She was already familiar with the room. The suite actually. She turned and ran into the bathroom hovering over the toilet, though nothing was coming up. She was just being safe... Didn't want to mess up a room at The Savoy.

"If you'd just listened to me-"

Eden put her hand up between the two and furrowed her eyebrows. "You're telling me that if I listened I wouldn't have had to see any of that, but imagine how Colin felt! Imagine how EVERYONE FELT watching them beat that boy! And don't even get me started on what you said to me. Was any of what you said true-"

"None of it was true! I didn't mean anything! I only did it so you'd actually be scared and thought you were going to die. If you knew I was going to get you out do you think you would have had the same reaction?"

His hand went to her shoulder, but she quickly swatted his hand away from herself. "Don't touch me! Don't touch me- I can't-"

Control yourself Eden holy shit.

Breathe.

She told herself.

But everyone was there. Luna was there. Angelina, Lavender... So many people were there. You can't ignore that.

That was the first time Eden ever saw Luna crying and crying hard. She looked so traumatized by what she was seeing unfold before her.

"Stop!" She pushed his hand away again and looked down at the floor.

One final time Draco tried to get his arm around her and this time she did not push him away, rather lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his body.

She dropped everything.

Everything he said at the castle.

Everything he did at the castle.

Everything.

In that moment all she wanted was him and as she cut the world off from herself and her emotions, Draco pulled her closer, putting his hand on the back of her head and letting her try to relax and find comfort in his hold.

"I'm sorry Eden. I'm so sorry."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eden was tired.

They were both tired.

Especially after all that previously happened.

All the tears she shed, the amount of stress on him to get her out before Voldemort killed her. It was all so tiring.

Harry would worry about her when he got back and saw that she was not there, but she just physically could not get herself to apparate back to the safe house.

They would all ask questions. Where was everyone? Where was Eden this whole time?

She simply did not want to answer.

Not yet at least.

So she spent the night in the room with Draco instead of returning.

The two got a total of 15 hours of uninterrupted sleep. No screaming, no banging... They had nothing to worry about in that little room of theirs.

The next day was not any better. Now that she was relaxed and calm enough to form an understandable sentence, Draco went at it.

He spoke his mind— everything he was upset at her for— and she listened.

"I told you I'd never hurt you... I told you I'd never kill you and yet you still thought I would do those things to you. It hurts me that you don't have any trust in me Eden-"

"I do trust you! I trust you with everything, but when you're put in a situation where the person you love flips a switch and sends you off to be killed, I think you'd think the same thing."

He sighed and rubbed his bottom lip. "And I told you Eden. I fucking told you not to come. I told you to stay at the safe house— stay safe— but you always take it one step further. You always do."

This was so embarrassing for her... All she wanted was the crawl into a hole and bury herself in, then never leave, just stay in the darkness forever and enjoy the peace and quiet.

"And I'm sorry about that, but I promised him-"

"How come you can promise an 11 year old boy that you'd go help him in a place where you could lose your life but you can't keep your promise to me that you'd stay safe? ME Eden! You should have picked me." He huffed, turning his head to the side and looked down at the blanket. "Forget it..."

"But just thinking about how much pressure he's in gets me so worked up-"

"I said forget it Eden! I don't want to hear you try and explain yourself to me. I know you had good intentions and I know you have some kind of connection to the boy, but you need to put yourself first!"

"You're a hypocrite because you never put yourself first. Only me."

He smirked faintly and looking into her eyes. "There's a difference between you and I Eden."

"Oh yeah? And what is that difference?"

"You my dear-" His hand ran from her shoulder to her chin, lightly tilting her head upward. "You have things to live for. I don't. It's fine if I die. Not fine if you die... Are you starting to understand where I'm going with this."

"I don't want you to die. I don't want you to go anywhere." Eden placed her hand on top of his and slightly pulled it down enough for her to get her way into his hold. "You have me to live for."

They took a second to stare at each other. His eyes and her eyes met, holding the gaze they shared.

Draco was reading her. Scanning her for any kind of hesitation, any kind of hatred for him after what he made her go through, yet he found nothing. She had completely forgotten about what he did and what she did. She already moved on...

And it was time he did the same.

With the war being so intense, neither of them wanted to end on bad terms.

And what is meant by 'end' is die.

"Draco..." She spoke up in a whisper.

He didn't take a second longer. He didn't need to.

He pulled her closer to him by her waist and leaned down in order to kiss her.

Immediately Eden kissed back and Draco was relieved he was not the only one feeling the burning, passionate desire to rip all her clothes off and sleep with her...

That was exactly what he did.

His hands glided over her back, down to the bottom of her shirt and he pulled it off of her.

No bra on.

She hadn't changed out of what she wore to sleep. That was why.

Next he pulled down her shorts, taking a moment to admire her beautiful body after he got down on his knee's and bit down onto the waistband of her panties, sliding them off with his own teeth.

Would have made anyone weak in the knee's.

Draco left a single kiss on Eden's hip bone, then got back to his feet and pushed her onto the bed behind her.

It didn't take long until he was naked with her.

Basically ripped his shirt in half when he took it off. Definitely was not wearable after that... What a shame. It was one of his favourites too.

Eden separated her legs just enough for him to fit between.

She was already so wet, just by the pantie trick he did.

He lined himself up and thrusted his hips while his dick slid in with ease.

"Fuck..." Eden sighed while Draco was busy wrapping his arms under her own and over her shoulders, basically holding her in place so she couldn't move away from him. He always did that. He always held her down like she was going to run off somewhere mid pound.

But the possessiveness his hold radiated made her heart flutter and her stomach flip out of excitement.

The weight of his body was coming down on her, but not to the point that it would suffocate her or hurt her. Just enough so that there was a tiny bit of pressure on her.

It made her warm.

She liked that.

"F-Fuck Draco-" She bit her lip, trying to hold back any moans that tried to escape her mouth.

"Why won't you just let it out love?" Draco asked, squeezing her tighter to his body. "Let it out for me..."

It was hard for her to think straight. Her mind was everywhere but on the words he just said to her. Actually no, her mind was blank, fuzzy even. She was experiencing to much pleasure to think or worry about anything else in the fucked up world she lived in.

"Eden look at me. Now."

Now those words registered in her head and she turned her attention to Draco's eyes, so evil looking while he watched her struggle to hold back.

"Let it out. I know you want to. Come on."

Back arching and legs shaking, her hips buckled and she let out a little whimper before catching herself again and shutting her eyes tight as ever.

This just made him want to fuck her harder. Hard enough to get her screaming his name and begging him to keep going.

So, gradually, he pounded her faster and more aggressively to the point that the bed frame was hitting against the wall so hard that the people in the other rooms above, below and beside them could definitely hear what they were doing despite the muffliato charm he put on the room.

Her mouth opened into an o shape, threatening to spill, but with the feeling of him sliding in and out of her hole she just couldn't help herself.

"Keep going! Holy shit- Draco!"

Her nails began to dig into his upper arms, leaving a few nice cuts on them when she pulled them away.

They started bleeding that second.

"F-Fucking hell." Draco dropped his head to the crook of her neck and hissed slightly at the stinging wounds from her nails. "You bloody animal."

His lips grazed her neck when he spoke and suddenly a shiver ran down her spine. One large enough to make her whole body flinch and her hands squeezing him tighter.

"D-Draco- I-"

Suddenly, he unwrapped his left hand from around her arm and grabbed the t-shirt beside them on the table beside the bed.

"Bite down on this like a good girl for me. Okay?"

He didn't exactly give her a choice and just shoved the damn thing into her mouth then getting himself back into the same position he was in before.

"Christ Eden-"

Out of natural habit, her legs tried closing yet again, but there was no avoiding this. She was going to come... But before she could, Draco pulled out, releasing all on her stomach, but not finishing there.

He was not the kind to leave a girl unfinished...

Eden shot to close her legs, but he did not move from between them yet.

"Ah ah ah... I'm not finished with you just yet dear. You couldn't possibly have thought I wouldn't finish you off now could you?" Right as he was saying all of that, he shoved his ring finger and middle finger into her vagina, while his thumb went right for her clit.

Her arm went over her eyes and her back sharply arched, but his hand on her stomach pushed her back down to straighten herself out.

The shouts and moans were muffled behind the t-shirt in her mouth and it stayed that was until she came, just like he wanted her to.

"You're such a good girl." He laid beside her, ripping the t-shirt out of her mouth and throwing it to the ground beside their bed.

Every time he called her that...

'Good girl'

She felt like she died and came back to life. Her stomach twisted into a knot and her eyes fluttered away from his gaze.

The way Draco said it held so much confidence and that along with his body made him feel so powerful against the tiny girl in his arms.

"Can you promise me something Eden..? Can you promise me you won't go back out there. You won't go near the battle or any danger. It isn't safe for you. It isn't safe for anyone... Let me handle it. I can't have you dying on me. I love you too much for that to happen."

Of course.

Of course she would promise him that.

Because at the end of the day they only had each other. She was more concerned with making him happy than anything else in the world.

"I promise. I'll stay out of trouble for you... I love you."


	54. Memory 24

June, 1998

The days from May to June went by faster than anyone would have anticipated.

Eden stayed at the hotel, keeping her promise to the boy she loved while Draco tried his hardest to fight for both sides of the war.

He was becoming less strong.

Always came back with bruises and wounds... But that was the price he needed to pay for dealing with both sides, killing Order members while also killing Death Eaters who had been alive for hundreds of years before him.

Breaks were getting shorter.

What Draco's normal schedule went like was 7 days fighting 7 days off.

But with Voldemort being the complete and utter dick he was, he shortened it to 7 days fighting 2 days off. Though Draco was not the only one dealing with the change, everyone was.

Pansy got a Dark Mark sometime in April, though Draco was so busy he did not even have the time to speak to her or figure it out for himself.

"He tells us we're close to winning... The Order is down by 1000 people, all dead."

"Do you think that means-" Eden started, but the look on Draco's face told her that he didn't want to speak on that just yet.

"I think it means what you think it means Eden..."

He said it so painfully too.

Like he was the one that would be sentenced to death as soon as Voldemort won.

"What does that mean for me? Where will I go? What will I do-"

Draco grabbed hold of her hand and brought it on top of his chest, right above his heart so she could feel it beating. "This is exactly why I don't want to speak on this... Look at you- Your hands. You're terrified... Shaking. God.. You shouldn't feel that way-"

"But what will happen to me? What will happen to all of us?"

"I don't care what happens to the rest of them. My main concern is you. I'm not letting him do anything to you-"

She shook her head.

Draco said that now until it was actually the time for her to die. He wouldn't be able to do anything then.

"You can't say that now. When the time comes he'll send every Death Eater looking for me... Not only me, but every other surviving Order member. He doesn't want anyone of us alive. There's nothing you can do. Not on your own at least. So I need a plan. I need a plan so when the time comes I'm ready."

He refused to listen to her.

He refused to believe that he could do nothing to help her.

Nothing to protect her from the vile ways of the Dark Lord.

"Do you know a place I can hide?" She asked. "Anywhere. Any part of the world, something hidden so well no one could find me?"

"I like how you think I just know some place like that."

She pulled her hand away from his heart, instantly regretting the action as she did not feel it beat anymore. "I'm being serious Draco... We need a plan. Without one I'll die."

Even Eden had no hope for her life after the war. She was already making preparations for it too. She finished reading The Great Gatsby. She had even taken up sewing.

On a jacket she didn't use much anymore, she started to sew a patten of flowers with a thin thread on it, connecting the stitches with little embroidered flowers which lead to bigger or more full flowers that decorated the pockets. The thread was light pink, but you could only tell up close.

For being one of her first times doing that, she did a pretty good job. Maybe now she'd actually start using the jacket again. It was no longer plain anyway, would probably go cute with some jeans and a black shirt? Something like that.

"Stop saying you'll die." He grabbed her hand and placed it back on his heart.

From May going into June, Eden and Draco had been getting comfortable with the idea of sex.

On somedays he would come back from fighting, —still bruised and bleeding— push her down onto the bed and fuck her until they were both pleased with the result or Eden was about to pass out, then crashed right beside her, laying his head on her breasts and using her like a pillow which he would squeeze tighter in his sleep.

After a few days it became a natural source of stress relief for the both of them.

For Draco, it was because of all of the fighting and for Eden it was from all the anxiety from staying cooped up in the room every single day. Of course, they were not totally hypersexual. They knew the limits...

Limited it down to 2 times a week....

Yes, still a lot, but the end was near. Eden deserved to get her back blown out a couple more times before she was gone from this earth.

Death became such a natural thing to her that the thought of her dying to a little avada kedavra was not so scary anymore.

It would hurt for what? Maybe 1 second?

But when she did take a good second to actually think about it, the anxiety came and she would hyperventilate until Draco came to her side.

Nothing really calmed her down aside from him. He was the only person she'd listen to. If he told her to relax, she'd relax, though it wasn't only his words that made her feel safer. It was the way his touch felt so relaxing. The way he would hug her and did not let go until she got either her crying or breathing under control.

Many days, Draco would full on break down in the shower, echoing throughout the bathroom and eventually hitting Eden's ears.

All she could do was listen to him.

His cries.

They were so hard to listen to because he never cried in front of anyone. Eden couldn't even remember the last time he cried with her, but now it was becoming much more frequent.

Eden quickly learned he did not like speaking about it. Whenever he would come out he would pretend he wasn't just crying in the shower and would seriously just put on a smile for her.

He was too good for her.

An angel.

Sometimes Eden would find herself crying with him. She couldn't feel what he was feeling, though she knew, just like everyone else, Draco was under a massive amount of stress.

Not only was he fighting for both sides of a war, but he was one of the Dark Lords most 'loyal' followers. Whenever he needed something he'd rely on the 18 year old boy to do it for him and if he refused...

Well he would be punished, just like he was the time he refused to kill Eden.

It was honestly a fucked up situation.

With Draco gone almost all day every day, the two of them spent as much time together as they could, but there was only so much you could do in a hotel room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eden's eyes shot open the moment Draco apparated out of the room and her gaze went to the calendar that laid flat on the night table beside her side of the bed.

June 16th, 1998.

There was nothing circled for that date.

No hearts, no balloons, nothing to indicate that something was happening on that day... But that wasn't the truth.

The girl got straight to work.

The plan had been decided.

She knew what she promised Draco.

She knew.

But something inside of her told her to go.

It didn't matter what she promised to him. Harry needed her, Hermione needed her, Fred, Ron, George, Lavender, Angelina, Luna... So many people needed her.

She was strong. She could do magic from her fucking hands for crying out loud!

Why was she laying in that room, counting the days until she dies, when she could have been fighting for her life because even if she did die, then she could at least say she tried.

On this particular day, she braided half of her hair up into a braided crown around her hair while the rest fell down to her shoulder and had on black leggings for flexibility, a black hoodie, and on top of that was a jean jacket.

The only thing she brought with her was her wand. Nothing else.

Unlike the last time she left, she left a letter.

In all honesty it sounded more like a goodbye than anything, but that was for Draco to read...

She left it on the bed after making it and putting the pillows back together then took her leave.

She appeared outside of the safe house and locked eyes with Hermione, who was already waiting for her outside.

"I'm glad you're here... Thank you for writing me back." Hermione met Eden halfway as they walked, putting an arm around her friend and pulling her closer. "You seriously don't know how much it means to us that you're here. We're down by so many Eden... So fucking many."

They walked inside the house which was engulfed in panicked chatter.

Everyone was running around, all ages, getting their stuff in order like wands, daggers and medical kits.

"Why is everyone so panicked? What's happening?"

"There was an attack on Hogwarts this morning. We sent out some people so get some spare books. Snape told us it would be okay. He lied. Bombs went off everywhere. We lost 13. Voldemort is there now and has changed the location of battle to there... Eden I don't want to scare you-"

Eden got the feeling she was about to scare her...

"-I think this is it. He's never joined in the fight, he always sits on his throne with his stupid little snake... He must know something The Order doesn't if he's just so suddenly gained all of this confidence... Does Malfoy know you're here?"

"Do you think if I told him what we planned I would be here right now? He would have chained me to a chair and left me in there. Of course he does not know. When are we going?"

"Few minutes." Fred suddenly chimed in from behind her, teasing her sides just like he used to. "You're ready?"

Eden squirmed and turned her head to look at him smiling and wrapping her arms around him. "Of course I'm ready." She mumbled into his chest and let go of him. "Are you?"

Hermione walked off to go get a kit together for herself while Eden and Fred spoke for the next few minutes inside of one of the rooms used for schooling. They stayed together until it was time to go.

Harry didn't come to see her until they were all standing outside, ready to apparate to the school they grew up in and watch it be torn to the ground like it was a nothing but a building on a cliff.

"Eden, look at me." Harry turned her head with his hand as everyone around them began to snap out of the field in front of the house. "I know we're not on good terms, but I need you to stay safe for me... Don't push yourself. If you need a break, take one."

"Just because we broke up does not mean we're not on good terms. I still love you. I always will. You were my first love Harry. That will always mean something to me. But the same thing goes for you. Stay alive, take breaks if you need them and be careful. I like seeing colours yeah?"

Harry smiled at her, kissed her forehead and extended his hand for her to grab.

The next thing she knew they were in the middle of the courtyard. The place where they used to hang out all of the time. The clock bells began to ring and when she looked up at the clock she saw that the time read 12:00pm.

"I'll see you in a bit." Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket and began to walk off to the left where there were already people fighting for their lives.

The walls here crumbling, bricks were broken. Eden was sure that if she so much as pushed her finger upon the building it would collapse.

The sky was dark grey making the place seem even more devastating than it really was.

Eden's head whipped around as a green spark came flying at her and she quickly dropped down to the floor, dodging it by just a second. Her eyes filled with rage, hand being to burn with a green glow. She didn't even need her wand by that point.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" She shouted raising her right hand and shooting the magic out of it.

It hit the man who immediately fell to the floor, his last action being to put a hand on his heart.

Again, the word death did not seem to have any meaning to the girl anymore. She was completely numb looking at the Death Eaters open and dead eyes, which slowly lost any kind of light they had to them. His skin quickly paled and into the ground he went, decomposing into the tiled bricks and mixing together with the dirt and dust.

When Eden moved forward, she made sure she stepped on his ashes.

The asshole didn't deserve respect.

Whenever she fought it was like a switch flipped inside of her. She became heartless, though she supposed that was a good thing. If she actually felt bad for whom she killed she would not be able to kill at all.

For about an hour, it was a cycle.

An overly confident man would throw his wand up and try to kill the 17 year old girl, but be unsuccessful because like everyone else, they underestimated her and her power.

The cycle continued.

It continued until...

Another Death Eater threw his wand up, but slowly put it down seeing her face.

She was confused.

Why did he stop.

He was completely covered from head to toe. A mask on his face, blocking out his eyes from her view and a cloak which covered every inch of his body. The only thing she could see clearly was the black sweatshirt he wore beneath it all as the cloak opened up.

He stormed up to her, her hand growing red as she started speaking the word.

"Cru-"

His hand wrapped around her wrist tightly and pushed it in the other direction as the spark flew out of her and died out in the sky.

Eden stared up at him and with her left hand she tried to raise her wand, but he was quick enough to notice and restrained her other wrist.

"What the FUCK are you doing here?!" He pulled her roughly to the side and into a corridor of the school, pushing her against the wall.

Just by his muffled voice from behind the mask Eden knew who it was, but was way to terrified to say anything to him until he threw his mask off to the floor and stared intimidatingly into her brown, fearful eyes.

"I'll ask you this one more time. Why. Are. You. Here?!"

She shrunk when his hands pinned her shoulders to the wall and tears were about to fall from her eyes.

"You fucking promised me!" He rose his voice slamming his hand against the wall. "You promised! YOU'RE A LIAR!" His voice was deep and his grip tightened on her as she let a few tears fall down her cheeks.

"You speak to me like I am completely hopeless and useless in this fight! I'm not! I'm the strongest witch here Draco. I'm doing this for ME! Not for anyone else and the sooner you realize that I'm not a little toy that you can lock in a room while her friends die, the sooner you'll understand why I've gone against you! But for now, get OFF of me!"

"No Eden! No. NO! You'll get hurt! You'll die! Eden listen to me PLEASE!"

For once Draco did not have control over a situation of hers...

"NO! You listen to me."

For once she took control...

"I'm going back out there whether you like it or not. This is my life on the line here! I need to fight for it. I need to make sure my last few minutes or last few breaths could be spent knowing I tried my hardest."

"Stop..." His grip loosened and he took a step back putting both of his shaking hands on his eyes, rubbing them out of stress and to wipe away the burning sensation of the tears. "Stop speaking-"

The thought of her leaving this earth made his heart wrench and tears were starting to strain the bottom of his eyes.

Just imagining how scared she would be taking her final breath and looking up into the sky without him there.

"Draco it's the truth. Maybe in another life we could have had a happy ending. We could have gotten married, had children, spent an eternity loving each other... But our story isn't like that. We don't have that kind of ending." Eden wiped her tears looking down the empty corridor to her left. "I'll die by the end of the day. It's not even a prediction, I know it will happen. We're down by so many fighters. Once Voldemort finds Harry it will be over."

"So that's it? You're just giving up on the possibility of winning-"

"That's no longer a possibility... I don't think it ever was..."

Draco didn't want to listen to her.

Half of him wanted to drag her back to the room and lock her in the bathroom until he came back, but the other half of him was telling him to let her go...

If this was the way she wanted to go out, then this would be the way she went out.

His own feelings and emotions needed to be put aside.

With a sigh, Draco opened his mouth. "I love you. I always will. Promise me you're going to stay safe... As safe as possible I mean. Until it is time. Promise me Eden. I'd rather die than lose you to this battle... To him. But if this is what you desire."

Draco grabbed her hands in his, pulling her close enough to feel the heat of her body radiating off of her.

"I promise. I love you Draco. I love you so much. No kind of action or word could even describe the way I feel about you."

"Fucking hell Eden." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him, basically engulfing her with the cloak that hung over his shoulders and body. "I'll never forget you. I'll come back and look for you. I promise."

Now that was a promise he could actually keep.

Looking up at him she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her lips upon his. The future was not certain, but this would probably be her last time kissing him, hugging him, touching him... Eden made it count.

Even Draco could feel how passionate and sad she felt while kissing him.

Both of their tears were seeping between their lips which only made the kiss feel more like a goodbye...

This was a goodbye...


	55. Memory 25

June, 1998

Point.

Shoot.

Kill.

It was now somewhere around 6. The sky was turning to a dark blue which only made the colours of the spells being casted glow brighter. She knew whenever someone died, whenever someone was crucioed... The screams only made the sinking feeling in her stomach so much worse.

Eden was sitting in the tiny hospital tent set up right outside of the courtyard.

"You'll be fine." Hermione put her wand down, seeing that the cut on her arm was completely gone, no trace of it whatsoever. "How is it out there?"

"Not looking good... Really not looking good... I have yet to see Voldemort. I don't have the slightest clue where he's fighting... At one point I had three guys on me. Fred stepped in and helped me-"

A loud, horrifying scream left another healers mouth as she looked out at the courtyard. "He's there! Voldemort is with Harry!"

Eden's heart dropped to her toes and the whole world felt like it was slowing down.

"He's holding someone! Jesus it's one of the twins-"

Both Hermione and Eden rushed over to the opening in the tent to see what she was speaking about.

There he was, dropping one of the twins bodies onto the floor and pointing his wand toward Harry.

Eden took off to be closer, she needed to hear what happened, she needed to be there when this was over...

"Eden stop! Stay back with me!" Hermione grabbed her arm and pulled her backward. "Do not run in the middle I swear..! Do not-"

"I know!"

They stopped by the entrance of the courtyard along with many others and Eden's heart broke 15 times more when she saw that it was Fred laying on the floor. Her hand reached backward toward her friends wrists and she clenched it tightly.

"Well well... Harry Potter."

Eden was still caught up on the fact that it was Fred who was dead on the floor.

Her best friend.

The only person who she could be completely comfortable around without facing judgement. The guy who told her jokes, made her laugh, let her cry when she was upset, even went as far as to travel to Italy for a performance of her's....

He was dead.

The thing that she was most choked up about was that she did not even get to say goodbye. Her hands were shaking, lip quivering and her knee's almost gave out at the sight.

"You held a long fight... And considering you did it almost completely alone at the age of 18, I have to give you credit."

"Stop the witty banter Tom."

"Tom?" The old man laughed, his hand reaching for the grip of his wand. "I was planning on keeping you alive, watching all for friends die. Your precious soulmate, but because of that remark... I think I'll just kill you now?"

Death Eaters on the side of Voldemort laughed.

They were all unmasked now. She supposed they did it because now that Voldemort had the win in the bag, they had no need to hide their identities.

In the crowd of all of them, Eden searched and found the only stone faced man who was staring right back at her. His blue eyes bluer than ever and his skin pale as snow.

"Avada..."

"No..."

What was this sudden feeling?

The feeling of jumping in the middle of the curse-

She did not want this?!

Her body was forcing her to Harry. It was forcing her to get between them and protect her soulmate...

That was what a soulmate did after all.

She should not have been as surprised. This kind of thing always happened. The connection would strengthen in times of desperate need and since he knew he would die, this was a desperate situation which in turn forced her to help.

"Eden... Eden stop."

"KEDAVRA!"

"HARRY NO!"

Eden ran to him although Hermione screamed and yelled, reaching out and trying to grab her arm, but instead making it fall completely out of her grasp while trying to keep her from running directly in the middle of battle, right in the middle of the curse, right in the middle of death.

Before the loud crash of the spell was heard, the ground below her feet began to shake and in the 0.5 seconds it took for the sound to ring out and echo, Eden realized how stupid she was for running in...

BOOM!

Debris went flying, hitting walls and cracking in half. The grand clock from the courtyard began to fall the ground.

It was all coming down, all coming down on her.

As colour was draining from her world and she fell to the floor, she knew it was Harry who'd been hit. Not her.

She laid emotionless on the floor, looking up at the sky and seeing the huge bell of the clock come crashing down to her.

Not scared.

Not sad.

Not anything.

Eden was completely numb.

Her eyes shut and a small smile appeared on her face a moment before the bell crushed her.

At least I tried.

Draco sat up from floor holding his head and looking around in confusion, but quickly regained his memory of what happened.

The shockwave from the curse sent everyone flying. Some even dying because of hitting the floor or walls too hard.

There were tons of dead bodies sprawled across the floor and the people who did survive were slowly getting to their feet and fleeing from the scene, especially people from The Order.

They knew what was coming.

Dust was everywhere as if some kind of bomb went off.

His eyes widened and his hand shot to his mouth as he squinted his eyes and saw the bell from the tower fall toward Eden.

A switch flipped inside of him.

Running would not be able to get to her in time, no magic could stop the bell at the speed it was falling to the ground. There was nothing more he could do except watch the bell fall on top of the love of his life.

When it hit the ground it rung extremely loud and it hit so hard that it made a dent in the stone path, basically meaning whatever was under it was crushed into hundred of little pieces

The only part of Eden that could be seen from where Draco was standing was her hand.

Her limp hand...

Draco's heart stopped.

"No..."

Falling to his knee's he put two hands on his head, pulling at his hair and looking at the floor.

"No-"

"Draco."

"No no.... No this isn't happening..."

Hermione bent beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. This was probably the one and only time anyone would ever hear her call him by his first name and actually touch him by her own free will.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more." She told him, rubbing her hand slightly.

The girl did not have much more time. If she wanted to survive even a few days longer she would need to start running to a place she could apparate. Then she would need to find a new place to live and survive.

Nothing Hermione said to Draco rendered in his mind. Words didn't sound like words.

There was a type of static sound in his ears, completely taking over his thoughts and he lost control of his own body. He was so out of it that he did not even notice Hermione running out of there.

Still out of control, he got to his feet and slowly made his way over to the bell.

He wanted to touch her one last time...

He wanted to hold her small hand in his one last time.

There is no way I'll go on without her... There is no way.

Get it through your head Draco... Eden is dead.

She is dead...

Never coming back-

Her hand twitched catching his attention.

Again, it twitched.

Nerves usually twitched after someone died. That was a known fact.

You're making it something it is not Draco. The sooner you realize she is gone the faster you'll be able to make sense of it-

Her hand waved slightly and her fingers were curling in and out weak as ever.

"Eden?"

"H-Help-"

It was quiet. Extremely quiet. The bell around her muffled the sound of her voice.

God it must have been right up against her mouth.

Suddenly, a powerful strength grew inside of him and the adrenaline from the panic he was feeling gave him enough power to dig his hands under the bottom of the bell and pull it upward until it was completely off of her. Then he threw it to the side and fell to his knee's beside her body.

Was he imagining all of that?

The voice, her hand?

"D-Draco?"

Her voice sounded raspy and weak and she was barely moving her body or face when she spoke.

Draco stared at the girl astonished.

How was that possible?

Looking back at the bell, he noticed that the impact did not crush her, but rather made in imprint in the bell of her very own body, like she was stronger than the piece of metal that collapsed onto her.

"Dra-"

"Shhh. It's okay. Don't speak." He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, apparating out of the courtyard before anyone could see him or what he just did to save her.

They landed in the room and after placing her down on the bed he grabbed his wand and sat right beside her.

The diagnotics said that she had nothing seriously wrong with her. No collapsed lungs, no impales to anything major. The only things that were wrong was her broken left hand, which was completely limp and not moving.

If Eden had moved her hand even just a tiny amount closer to her body, she would have completely avoided any broken bones.

Of course, she had head trauma from hitting the ground after the shockwave knocked her over. That was unavoidable, though that was something that could have been fixed. The most important thing was that she remembered who she was and who he was.

"It h-hurts." The girl was in shock. She couldn't form one sentence without stuttering or losing breath.

"I know it does... I know. I'm going to fix it. It won't hurt anymore if I do okay?"

She nodded her head and looked down at her hand.

It looked flat and as if there were no bones, no veins, absolutely nothing inside of her hand. The sight almost made her puke, but she looked elsewhere.

The ceiling looked more interesting anyway...

The healing made her scream. The pain of her bones being fixed back into their place, all of the tiny pieces being put back together like they were never broken to begin with.

Draco couldn't even look at her as she shouted for him to stop. He shut his eyes and let the wand do the magic for him until the spell stopped and her hand was completely better.

"Can you move your fingers?"

Her fingers bent in and out and Eden finally looked back down at her hand. It was fixed. Just like that... That was why she loved magic. It was so useful.

"Say something to me. I want to hear your voice Eden. Anything."

When she spoke her voice was still low, a little less raspy than before, but it did crack occasionally. "I love you."

He laid his head down on the pillow beside her and completely snuggled her into his chest and holding her as tightly as he possibly could. "I thought I lost you." He kissed the top of her head and put a hand on the back of her hair. "I thought you were gone. I was ready to kill everyone until I saw your hand flinch. God I never want to lose you Eden. I never want to lose you ever. My heart stopped. Really it stopped. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't speak, I-"

"I'm alive now. That's all that matters... That we're together."

Poor girl had dark eye bags and her hair was completely messy and dirty. They were 100% messing up the white bedsheets, but neither one cared.

They both just wanted to be with the other, enjoying the moment they thought they would never share again after Voldemort won.

"What am I going to do? Where am I going to go? They'll surely come looking when they realize my body is not where it is supposed to be. I'm so fucked."

The plan struck her only moments later as Draco filled the bath and let her sit in it for an hour to sooth her aching limbs. Knee's and ankles especially. He poured the hot water on her back and washed her hair for her.

After she finished she dressed in her favourite dark green sweatshirt of Draco's and her own sweatpants, laying and watching t.v. just planning on the perfect time for her to tell him what she was thinking, but that time never came.

"I never want to lose you again. I never ever want to go through the pain of not knowing where you are or if you're alive or dead. I never want to leave you alone..." He whispered into the back of her neck, leaving a soft kiss as he paused. "Let's run away together. Let's hide some place nice. Somewhere isolated."

Eden painfully smiled and turned her body so that she was now facing him, wrapping her arms around his torso and holding him loosely. "Tell me more..."

"Alone. We'll be alone and we'll have a family, grow old... An island probably. And I could put protection charms all over the place so we'll be safe. I can go out, get us things we need... I'll even build the house myself. Our dream home."

All of his sounded so exciting. It made Eden's heart race just thinking about spending her life alone with him... Yet, another plan was dragging her back to the sadness...

The plan she made by herself.

"That sure does sound intriguing. How many children would you like in the future?"

"As many as you want."

She looked down at his hand and slowly intertwined their fingers together. "Well I always wanted a baby girl... Since I was 5. I always used to play with my teddy bears. Never dolls, they scared me too much."

Draco let out a breath of a laugh and squeezed his fingers around her hand. "Then we'll have a daughter... We'll try I mean."

Could be a boy, which she was also okay with.

"Slow down, I'm just 17." She laughed and leaned her head against the edge of his pillow. "But when the time is right. Yes, we'll have a child."

His smile never seemed so bright, which just made her feel so much more awful about what she was going to do.

The plan was no longer just a possibility. 

It was THE plan.

"You're going to be an amazing mother you know... Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" His hand left her's and he put his index finger under her chin, tilting it upward for her to look at him. "Tell me.."

"It's-" She sniffled and wiped her tears. "It's nothing... Gosh I don't even know why I'm crying right now."

Eden's hands went to cover her face to hide the tears, but Draco pulled her hands away and looked back into her eyes.

"You're telling me the truth?"

"Of course I am. Why would I not be?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later on that night, as Draco drifted off to sleep, playing with a few strands of her hair, Eden thought it was the perfect time...

She sat up very slowly, slipped out of his arms and grabbed the old letter she wrote for him, which she tucked under the bed after she got out of the tub.

Out of all the panic of her injuries and near death experience, Draco didn't notice the piece of paper on the bed, so she ripped it up and threw it off of the balcony. That was no longer the note she wanted him to read when he found out she left him.

With a pen and paper, she got to work, writing her final goodbye to him.

This time, it was real. She would not be coming back.

She would never be coming back.

When she finished, she placed the note on her pillow, conjured up a white rose, and took off still in his sweatshirt, only throwing on a pair of her most comfortable jeans and a little bag filled with her wand, and a lip balm.

Before she left, she looked toward the sleeping boy.

He was so tired.

After everything he did that day he deserved it.

"I love you..."

And like that, the girl was gone.

The room fell quiet aside from the sound of the A/C cooling the room down and the faint laughter from the gameshow that played on the television.


	56. Memory 26

June, 1998

This place was not what Eden expected.

Snape was rumoured to live in a huge mansion, but what she was looking at was a little shack off at the end of a little abandoned village.

He is probably asleep... This is a bad idea.

Turn back now Eden.

It's not worth it.

You don't even want this.

Coming to a stop outside of the door, Eden really thought about what she was about to ask of her old professor and right as she was about to knock on the door, it was pulled open and the black haired man stood behind it. Still he wore those black robes, just like he did back at Hogwarts.

The girl gasped and nearly fell down the two steps that led up to his door out of surprise.

"Eden Abella... How peculiar it is to see you here, standing on my doorstep." His eyes scanned over her and then landed back on her eyes. "You are supposed to be dead are you not?"

"Uhm- Yes, that is correct-"

"So why is a dead girl standing in front of me right now?"

Was that his way of tell her he would keep her secret?

Eden hoped that was the case.

"I've come to ask for your help... Not for a place to stay or whatever. I need you to-"

"Pause..." His hand went up right in front of her face and her mouth zipped shut right away. "Tell me inside. I don't know who is around listening."

"Oh..."

Snape stepped aside, motioning his hand for Eden to come in. "Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"No I'm fine... Thank you."

It looked old, in here. The outside of his house definitely did not do the inside justice. It was an illusion charm. The outside looked small, the inside looked huge and fancy.

Now Eden was beginning to realize why everyone said his house was ginormous.

"So... I was saying." She took a seat on his couch where he allowed her to sit while he took a seat across from her. "I have a request. I would like you to obliviate me. I need any memories with Draco from the past 8 months gone, all starting from when he gave me this necklace. You can choose to get rid of them completely, or replace them with Harry so the memories are still there, but I need him gone... Oh and Pansy as well. I need to forget those two."

The man put his fingers together, intertwining them and resting them on his legs. "Why do you need him gone? Why would you do that to yourself? I know you two are together by the way. Draco tells me everything..."

Oh for fucks sake.

If Draco told him everything, that meant Snape told him everything in return, especially if it was his girlfriend asking to be obliviated.

"Well I'm running away, going into hiding if you will. I think if I forget him I won't have any reason to come back and if I'm caught, Voldemort will definitely go through my mind. It would only make sense for him to be gone from my thoughts. I don't want him to get punished anymore than he already has-"

Snape shook his head and leaned forward, slightly raising his tone. "You know you'll be punishing him when he finds out what you've done? That you have decided to erase him entirely from your memories."

Ouch.

Did he want to make her feel worse than she already did?

And the fact that she was holding it together so well... It was all about to crumble.

Eden could feel it with each breath she took. They were becoming shorter and shorter.

"I'm doing this for him. So that when I do eventually get caught, he'll be safe. I would rather myself die than Draco. It would be better this way."

"Is that truly what you want? You've thought this through? You are certain you want to forget him?"

...

"Yes."

Draco's eyes opened when he couldn't feel the heat of her body beside him anymore.

"Fuck.."

His eyes locked on the rose, which he quickly threw off and opened the letter so he could read it.

Immediately, his heart shattered.

Dear Draco,

I don't know how to tell you this without it sounding like I'm an awful person, so I will start from the beginning.  
On October 19th you gave me my mother's necklace. You were the only one to remember my birthday. You were the only person who mentioned it the whole day. It made my heart flutter I'll admit. But it only progressed from there.  
You almost hurt me in your foyer, yet two seconds later you jumped in to save me from your father, who was set on trying to kill me.  
You took it upon yourself to find where I worked, where I lived, what I did. You even helped me financially when I was in desperate need of it.  
On the fire escape of my little flat, you told me you'd been watching me... Yet for some reason I was not freaked out about it. At the time I was confused about why that was. Why I was not scared or upset at you for doing that, but it is now that I am realizing why that is.  
You have been perfect to me. Through everything, you have been perfect. You brought me home when I was drunk, saved me from the job I would have gotten killed at, and even killed some of your own people for me.  
Draco, you have put me in front of everyone else for the longest time now.  
Your possessiveness always flattered me. Your fascination with my tiny hands did too as well as you strength, power, and looks... Everything about you makes me love you 10x more than I already do.  
You were the only one who could successfully put a smile on me face. The only one who could calm me down from a panic attack. The only one who has ever made me feel truly loved.  
Draco I love you.  
I always will love you, but our time has come to an end.  
I care about you too much to get you killed. I would rather it just be me than the both of us...  
If you're reading this it means I have been obliviated. When you were asleep I snuck off to Snape's house. I've asked him to obliviate me and I will no longer remember you or anything we've been through. I've done this because I love you. I want you to be safe. I can't go on knowing that if I get caught you'll be going down with me...  
Please forgive me for this...  
I love you. Goodbye.

~Eden

Draco's heart stopped, shooting up from the bed and looking toward the window.

Still dark.

She must have left only minutes ago.

"No! No..." He stood, leaving everything of his inside of the room, including his wand and apparated to the house of Snape.

It couldn't have been too late. She could not have already done it.

His hand was clenched tight enough that his nails pierced his skin and without hesitation the enraged and emotional boy kicked the door open.

It swung backward hitting the wall and making a nice hole where the knob met the wall, along with a crack from where the edge of the door hit as well.

"SEVERUS! WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?!"

The door slammed as he swung his hand backward and walked through the house uninvited. Draco was ready to tear the place to the ground from how much anger was building inside of him.

It was a good thing he didn't bring his wand, he would have surely killed the man if he laid eyes on him for even a second.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Draco threw a vase of flowers to the wall, making it break as soil exploded everywhere.

"Draco?!"

Her voice made him stop and his nails digging into his skin loosened.

"I thought you were asleep-"

"Don't you DARE FUCKING DO THAT TO ME!" He shouted, storming toward her and wrapping his arms around her. The girl felt so fragile and delicate. Draco didn't want to hurt her, but found himself squeezing her extremely tight. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"I-"

"Her logic makes complete sense."

Both of their heads turned to see Snape walking through the doorway Eden just walked in from.

The anger kicked in again and the target was on the man's face.

"AND YOU! YOU BLOODY IDIOT! I SWEAR I"LL BASH YOUR SKULL-"

Eden stared at him and put her two hands on his chest. "Draco stop-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

All Eden could do was try her best to hold him back and watch as his eyes turned black and his cheeks turned red.

"Draco please?! Please stop! Please..."

"I WANT HIM OUT-" Draco shouted and pointed toward Snape.

"This is my bloody house! I'm not going anywhere!"

"YOU WANT TO BET?!"

"Severus. Can you give us a moment?" Eden desperately asked, pushing harder on Draco's chest to keep him from beating the man dead. "Please?"

Without a word he listened to her, stepping back into the room, this time shutting the door so that the two teenagers could be alone with one another... It was clear that Eden had some serious explaining to do.

"Please just relax-"

"Relax she says!" He laughed amusingly and grabbed her throat, not hard enough to hurt her, just enough to scare her into shutting up. "YOU'RE TELLING ME TO RELAX?! AFTER I'VE ALMOST LOST YOU TWO TIMES IN THE SPAN OF 24 HOURS? NO I WON'T RELAX. YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE! YOU'LL STAY WITH ME!"

"That won't work Draco! That won't work-"

"You're right. BUT YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT! I will not let this happen! You will not completely forget about everything that we have been through-" He needed to pause in order to catch himself. "You're not leaving me. You're not going anywhere. You're staying with me!"

The boys voice was cracking. Eden could tell he was on the verge of tears.

"Listen to me for a second-"

"No! My answer is no. No kind of explanation can tell me otherwise. Your intentions are well, but I couldn't give a shit about if I die because I wouldn't want to be on this planet without you! Why are you just giving up on us this easy?!"

Eden couldn't hold it anymore. Her face was becoming too hot from holding it all in and her heart was pounding too fast to ignore it. The tears came spilling.

"Do you think I want this?! I'm just doing what's best for both of us! I wouldn't choose to forget your for no reason. I'm doing it because I care-"

"Doing it?! You still think you're doing it."

"I AM doing it."

"No you're not-"

"YES I AM!"

His hand slid out from around her throat and he took a step back, looking at her in astonishment.

"Draco... I need to do this. If I don't I'll feel guilty. I'll feel like it is all my fault."

His eyes narrowed to hers and he did what he hadn't done in ages to her. He was reading her mind, every thought that was passing through her head.

"You're also doing it so you don't turn back... So you have nothing to come back to. You won't be tempted by anything-"

"Stop that.." Her eyes broke away from his and she took a step forward. "Listen."

"No-"

Eden turned his head and laid her hand upon his tear stained, warm cheek. "Listen to me. There is nothing more in the world that I want than to grow old and have children and be happy with you on that little island we were talking about earlier, but like I said before, this story doesn't have a happy ending."

"It could, you just don't want it to."

"We'd die either way... Now I want you to love someone else the way you love me. Someone who you can be with without getting into trouble. Someone you can be public with. Not me-"

Draco shook his head and placed both his hands on her face. "You are the only one I'll ever love Eden. There isn't anyone else like you. I'll never love anyone the way I love you. Ever."

The tone was more calm now.

He was beginning to understand it was time to say goodbye.

"It's time to say our goodbyes..." Eden painfully let out with a small sob following right after.

"No... Please Eden. I'll do anything. Don't do this."

"I love you Draco."

It was clear, she made up her mind.

Now he could either choose to leave her on a bad note, not telling her how much he truly loved her, or he could do the complete opposite.

"Eden..."

Their bodies were pressed against one another, coming even closer after he let one hand wrap around her waist and the other stay on her face.

"I love you. I love you so fucking much. I'll come back for you when this is over. I'll make you remember. I won't forget. You'll be the only person I-" He looked away for a moment as a cry ripped through him, then regained his stare. "You'll be the only person I love. Forever. You're my fucking person. I'll never forget that."

Eden's smile was so painful and tears were streaming down her face. The insides of her body felt like they were shaking and her lips were quivering while she tried to compose herself and not start sobbing right in front of him.

Draco leaned down, capturing her lips one last time and holding her tighter, as if that were even possible.

"This i-isn't a goodbye okay?"

It was though.

It was because Draco did not know if she would ever see him the way she did now ever again.

In a few minutes she would completely forget everything they've ever been through and that terrified him.

After months of working on trying to get her... He finally did, but now she was being ripped from his hands, being shoved back into the harsh mindset she had before. That he was a selfish little dick who cared for no one but himself.

That was true back then, yes, but now he was a selfish little dick who only cared about her.

"Okay..."

When Snape entered the room, he let the two share one final kiss. One final moment before it was all erased.

Snape pointed his wand at the girls head as she shut her eyes tightly, clenching both of her hands into fists.

This was going to hurt.

Erasing almost every memory she had and replacing it with Harry was a hard job. That was the reason she came to Snape because though he was untrustworthy, he would get the job done.

Eden collapsed into Draco's arms as soon as Snape finished, letting his hand fall limp and the wand sliding to the floor.

Eden passed out.

It was common after a long obliviation.

With nothing else to do, he apparated to the only place he could think of. The only place that could provide her a shelter without being questioned about where she is since Eden had no prior connection...

The pub.

When Draco was in need, Florence was the only witch he could go to. She was loyal, kept her promises. Bringing Eden there would be the best option. He knew Florence would never let anything happen to the girl if he told her to protect her.

With Eden in his arms, he carried her inside the rundown pub.

Empty. It was completely empty.

It was then that Draco looked outside and realized that the morning hours were approaching. He hoped that Florence would not be too upset by his sudden arrival.

Speaking of the devil...

The older woman walked down the stairs from her apartment which was located right on top of the pub and dropped her cup onto the ground seeing the boy standing near the door.

"Draco Malfoy! What has happened! I haven't seen you in ages!"

Florence rushed over, leaving her cup on the floor after seeing Draco's tears running down his face despite him trying so hard to keep them back and fight to put the mask he always wore back on, but seeing Florence, knowing she would not judge him. He began to break down in front of her.

"Who is this?" Florence asked, putting a hand on Eden's head gently.

"Eden Abella... I- I have no where else to go. She is in danger. Severus Snape has just obliviated her. She won't remember who I am when she wakes."

By his words, the lady standing in front of him could just tell without asking that the two teenagers had history together. Plus, Draco Malfoy cried for no one. Not his family, not his school work, not even his friends.

This girl, whoever she was, was special.

"Why is she in danger?"

"Voldemort. He's won the war... You need to help her. She'll be alone without your help. She has no where to go. Her parents are muggles, died at the hands of the Dark Lord while she was still young. Can you keep her safe? Please Florence I have no one else-"

Draco was panting and gasping for air as he explained the situation. Just thinking about Eden's situation was anxiety inducing.

"Relax... Of course I'll keep her safe. You have my word."

Making an unbreakable vow right at this moment was impossible, but Draco trusted that Florence was being truthful. She had never let him down in the past, why would she now when he needed her most. She was not loyal to anyone which meant she was not loyal to the Dark Lord. Eden was safest here in her care.

"Let me take her. I'll set her up in a bed. I'll make sure she is fed and given water when she wakes up. I'll even make up a story for her to believe she was fighting before I found her. She won't have a clue."

"Are you sure?"

"She will be safe with me. I promise you that Draco. When have I ever let you down?"

Never.

Florence had never let him down.

The woman extended her arms, intending for Draco to put Eden in them, but he walked up with her, seeing where she was going to be letting Eden stay for the night.

The room was somewhat clean compared to the rest of the pub.

The drapes covered the sun from coming in completely as it was beginning to rise and the walls were dark red. It was old fashioned. Yes, definitely, but it was good enough for her to stay in.

It had a bathroom, a bed, a table, a few pieces of parchment and a quill.

Draco could tell this room had never exactly been occupied. It was too clean to have been.

After getting Eden into the bed, Florence looked over her shoulder toward the door seeing Draco leaning against it's frame. He was biting his thumbnail, holding himself in his arms as they wrapped around his body.

"I'll give you two a moment. Before you leave."

With that, Florence slipped out of the room leaving Draco alone in there with Eden. The door shut and it was now completely quiet.

The faint sounds of people walking in the streets could be heard, but aside from that, absolutely nothing.

It felt like she was dead. Looking at her laying there.

To him, this girl still meant so much. This girl was still his whether she knew it or not.

To her, the boy looking over her meant nothing. This boy was a stranger, just another student she went to school with. Nothing/No one special to her.

He kneeled down beside the bed, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips, leaving a small kiss on her knuckles.

Her hands were so soft. He had only noticed this now...

Now that it was too late.

"Let me tell you a secret Eden..." He gulped and shook his head. This was silly. She couldn't even hear him. "Astoria was never my soulmate. I never saw colour with her... It was you. It has always been you. You were the one to make me see colour for the first time back in third year. Astoria was a coverup."

Why hadn't he said this to her earlier?

Why had he lied to her all these years?

All this time and she still would never know...

His eyes trailed over to her soft lips, then back up to her closed eyes while his free hand caressed the side of her cheek gently.

"I'm coming back for you Eden. That is a promise... This isn't goodbye. Just as you said"

Draco stood from his knees and wiped his upper lip stressfully.

"You have always been the most beautiful and strong girl I have ever met."


	57. Chapter 57

...

It was quiet.

Utterly silent.

And Dark.

Eden couldn't open her eyes just yet, but she was slowly coming to.

The bed she was in was comfortable. Way more comfortable than the one in her room. She was in Draco's.

The sheets in his room were heavier and kept her warmer, plus they felt different. Less harsh on her skin.

Her eyes were so heavy, yet she forced herself to open them.

Eden did not want to be stuck in the darkness. It scared her too bad.

Until she opened her eyes and saw the sunlight shining through his windows, she thought that she was for sure in come kind of coma or maybe even dead.

"Eden?"

"Hmm?" The girl hummed faintly and tried to sit up against the pillow her head once laid on.

For real, what the fuck was happening to her...

Every motion of her arm made an ache swarm her body. An ache painful enough to make her scream out in pain, yet she did not do that. She just physically couldn't.

"Shh. Stop. Lay down."

There was only one question on Draco'a mind while he looked at the girl in his bed.

It had been two weeks. She needed to have an answer for him now that she was awake. It had almost felt impossible for him to wait as long as he did.

"Draco?" The rasp in her voice did not help her in that situation.

Malfoy ignored her question and got straight into what he wanted to know. "Do you remember? Do you remember who I am?"

"Y-Yeah... You're Draco-"

"I mean do you remember me. Do you remember what I just played for you. Do you remember what you mean to me?"

It was hard holding himself from just engulfing her in a hug and holding her, but the harsh truth is that there was a chance that everything he just played for her and tried to replant in her memories did not stick. Had he just suddenly hugged her, she would be confused.

As she came to, successfully siting up against the pillow, Draco asked her again. "Do you remember what you mean to me Eden? Do you remember who I am?" So much hope filled his body while he awaited her answer.

Heart beating, legs shaking, tears filling his eyes although he did not even know the answer just yet.

"I told you it wasn't a goodbye Draco."

A breath of relief left his mouth and he immediately wrapped his arms around her body, not holding her too tight, but just enough to feel her.

This was the girl he knew.

This was the girl who loved him.

And this was the only girl Draco could ever learn to love.

"W-Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why did you wait so long... After I- After I tried to kill myself? After I've almost been raped by Voldemort himself?"

"Fuck Eden I'm so sorry. I'm so fucking sorry. I'm sorry...." Draco kept repeating those two words like a broken record in her ear with his voice cracking from the crying and his hand on the back of her head, caressing her hair gently, just like he used to. "I wish I did more. I wanted to tell you. Not a day went by that I didn't want to tell you."

"Why didn't you? Why did you not tell me then..." His tears were contagious because coming over Eden like a storm was all of her built up emotions finally showing through.

This was the first time in such a long time that she could trust someone.

"I- I checked up on you almost every other day when you were with Florence. Not a day went by that I did not think about you. I didn't tell you about us to keep you safe. Voldemort read your mind at the beginning. He would have seen everything. He still could if he pleases, but it's better you know-"

"You were so violent... You left me in a cell-"

The amount of betrayal and happiness she was feeling at the same time was astounding and quite honestly hurt her head.

Draco still held her, unable to get his hands off of her.

Eden still did not even seen his face though she wanted to.

The boy felt awful about what he did, about what he could have done but did not. The more she reminded him the more horrible he felt.

"I would never do anything to hurt you. I would never do anything to make you feel unsafe-"

"SO WHY AM I HERE?!"

She was mad yet she also refused to let go. For once she felt safe in the embrace of someone who wasn't a damn house elf and just because she was angry did not mean she wanted this to end.

Draco went quiet, letting his grip run loose, but Eden held him tighter and moved slightly over to allow him more space to lay down.

"Don't let go of me. Please- Just don't let go."

"I won't. I'm not going anywhere."

Boy was that a relief to hear after all of this time.

I'm not going anywhere.

It meant more to than he knew because after everything that had happened, he was still there with her, he really was not going anywhere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a few minutes of just holding each other in an attempt to relax and stop the crying, they finally let go of one another, now just laying close together.

Eden eyes met his and for what felt like the first time all over again, he saw the spark. The spark she used to have whenever she smiled, or even glanced his way. "Why did you make Snape put dancing in my made up memories? I didn't dance at all during those 8 months, yet you made me remember them so well..."

So she caught onto that after all huh?

Draco thought, and started to explain. "Dancing made you happy. It made you relaxed and feel more like yourself. It got rid of your nerves and anxiety... I thought that maybe if you had those kinds of memories, you'd be happier."

Eden's heart melted.

Literally melted into a puddle inside of her body.

Of course Draco would think of something like that just to make her happier.

"Well it worked... Would have had way more suicide attempts if it hadn't..." Her eyes broke away from his and down to their finger, which she began to intertwine.

"I understand it might take a little bit longer for you forgive me for the way I have treated you and-"

"Stop. I'm not mad at you. I couldn't be mad even if I tried. You did it to keep the act going. You did it to keep me safe."

"That doesn't excuse the ways I've spoken to you... And the ways I've grabbed you and hurt you." The guilt was building up inside of him so much Eden could see right through to it. "I could have done so much more, prevents things from happening. I could have at least given you more clothing, more attention..."

The girl frowned and lightly started to trace his palm with her thumb. "I'm not angry."

The tone made it official. She was dead serious.

But just because she forgave him didn't mean he would forgive himself.

Not yet at least.

After everything he'd done, he just couldn't find it in himself to drop everything and pretend it never happened.

It did happen and he was ashamed of it.

Two knocks came from the door and as it creaked open, Eden's head shot up knowing exactly who was at the door just by her short black hair.

"SHE REMEMBERS?!" It was the fact that Eden and Draco were laying on the bed together that gave it away. "Oh god!"

Pansy ran to the other side of the bed and wrapped her arms around Eden, carefully just like Draco did.

"Are you alright? How's your head? Hurting? I bet. Must have taken a lot to put everything back where it's supposed to be... Do you want something to drink? Eat? I'll make you something-"

"I'm fine... Thank you though."

Draco stood from the bed. "I'll leave you two alone for now. Come down once you're feeling better. I have clothes you might like in the bottom drawer of my dresser. Some of your old stuff. I packed it when I left the hotel and returned home..."

With him gone and the door shut, the two girls were free to talk about whatever they wanted.

"He's putting a lot of blame on himself. He won't even look me in the eyes. Before you came in, I got him for a second, then he looked away. I think I fucked things royally."

Pansy sighed, throwing her arms against the mattress and slamming them down on the sheets to feel how nice they were. "You have not done anything. Of course he feels horrible. I would to if I had to do what he did. But he'll come around. He never gave up on you. Why would he now that he's finally gotten you back?"

Thinking about it, Pansy was right. If he didn't care about her anymore he wouldn't have tried so hard to keep her safe, by making up the lie about Hermione at the gates of the castle that one time, pulling his father out of her mind, and saving her life when she was attacked by that vampire.

"I hope he forgives himself... It's going to be a very difficult journey if he does not... Anyway, I'm honoured that you've named your daughter after me."

Pansy blushed slightly and looked away from Eden. "How could I not name her after the strongest witch I know? Her father is Blaise-"

"BLAISE?!"

"He's dead now. Died at the hands of Hermione Granger. That's as how she got caught, though Blaise had it coming. He was a horrible man. The only reason I got pregnant was because of a one night stand, yet now I have my little girl and I could not be anymore happier in my life."

That was relief to hear.

Some good and happy news to distract from the bad. It made Eden feel better.

"You know," Pansy began, now sitting upright on the bed and crossing her legs. "Draco went to check on you almost every single day when you were at that pub. He knew where you were this whole time, never told a soul, nor even me until you were caught."

Eden was starting to really remember where she was and what her situation was the more she talked to Pansy.

At the end of that day, the girl was happy she had her memories back. She was extremely happy that she could remember her relationship with Draco.

Yet, although she had all of these amazing things, Eden was still trapped. Not so much in this house, but rather in Voldemort's plan. He was still so deranged and evil.

Still Eden had no where to go; no where to run too...

Still the girl felt hopeless and what a horrible feelings that was...


	58. Chapter 58

What was one to do after he gets the love of his life back.

Nothing in this situation.

Draco might have gotten Eden back, but that did not change the fact that Voldemort had control over everything regarding her. If he wanted, he could rip the girl out of Draco's care and she would once again be lost because he can't do anything to protect her.

Two nights went by before he could look Eden in her eyes again and up until that point, Pansy was doing everything for her. Bringing her food, taking her on walks, bringing her books...

The only thing Draco did was inform Pansy that Eden was not to return to that god awful room she stayed in before. She was to stay in Draco's while he went to her old one.

It was a late March night. The cool breeze was just starting to turn warm now that they were reaching Spring.

Draco took that as an opportunity to get out more at night when he knew no one else could catch him sneaking out or follow him.

Usually, he went out for a walk to check up on the horses at the stable. It was common for vampires to try and break in there at night to take their blood.

There were enchantments up all around the place, but sometimes they would falter if they were weak allowing one in every once and a while.

The boy had always gotten there on time when that was the case, hence why the horses were still alive and breathing.

Draco sat against the wall with his hands clasped together.

Not the ideal place, but it was fine if he could have some alone time...

There were so many things he needed to think about. So many things that he could not comprehend.

Not only was he upset with himself, he was upset with the world for what they're allowing to happen to Eden.

Everything he looked at seemed to be a representation of Eden and her terrible situation.

Just the other day Draco found a mouse trapped in a bottle.

It reminded him that that was how Eden felt all of the time and that not even his comfort could help her feel better about where she was and what was happening to her.

He wouldn't be surprised if the girl hated him forever, although she said she did not.

It was so easy to say she forgave him, but Draco could sense there was something deeper...

Something Eden was not telling him.

That alone time was almost immediately interrupted by the door sliding open and the soft footsteps of whoever it was that just entered, shuffling through the hay that scattered the floor and right as they turned the corner, Draco's hand shot up thinking it was some kind of animal or even a vampire that was trying to sneak into the stable.

"Christ Eden I thought you were a vampire." The hand which held his wand lowered and instead of sitting, he leaning against the door of the equipment room.

"Sorry..."

It could not have been more awkward in that room. The only sounds were the breathing of the horses and the tree's in the forest blowing back and forth.

It would be best for one of them to state the obvious, but both of them at pits growing in their stomachs making it harder to do so.

"You haven't spoken to me in 3 days now Draco. What is wrong? You can tell me it's not like I have anyone to tell-"

Draco suddenly cut her off. "You may not have anyone, but the Dark Lord still has you under his control. I don't exactly want to spill my guts to someone he has such easy access to."

With the annoyed tone in his voice Eden could tell he was getting mean in order to mask the way he felt.

She'd been living with him for months; she's been able to pick up on these kinds of habits so they did not work on her anymore.

"So that is what is bothering you? The fact I'm still being forced to stay here?"

"God Eden no that's not my bloody issue right now. My issue is that you remember and you just forgive me like nothing happened. My problem is that even now that you remember, you're still trapped here. You don't even want to be here with me. Eden you want me gone. You want to go out and be free from all of this. Don't act like that is not what you want. I saw it in your mind already."

Her eyebrows furrowed and her arms crossed over her chest. A warm anxiety ridden feeling fell over her... More specifically her cheeks. "Why are you getting mad at me right now? You can't blame me from wanting me be far away from this situation."

When did this conversation becoming about her? Eden was the one who came to check on him.

"So it is true then. You don't want to be with me right now?"

"What? No. That's not what I said at all. I said the situation... Not you. I don't want to be anywhere without you Draco."

"Just forget I ever said anything Eden. I don't want to talk about this now. You have to be at the castle tomorrow and I- We just can't talk about it right now."

Well this was news to her...

The castle... Tomorrow?

A heads up would have been nice if he wasn't going out of his way to ignore her for the past few days.

Eden bit her lip nervously and took a step closer. The boy wasn't even looking at her. "Then when are we going to talk about it because it seems recently that wherever I am, you're not... I just want to see you."

Draco froze and finally looked at the girl. She wore her favourite dark green hoodie of his and navy blue plaid shorts. She must have just come from bed by the looks of it.

The way her hair was growing, it was now passing her shoulders hitting the middle of her back.

The boy liked her long hair. He always had.

Her hair was a bit messy and frizzy from laying on the pillow of his bed, but aside from all of that her eye bags seemed to have gone away from the last time he had the chance to really look at her.

"You're the only person I want to see right now and you have been ignoring me. I feel very alone... I have so many questions... Can you say something to me-"

He couldn't bare it anymore. The silent treatment could only work for so long until he cracked.

Now was that time.

He was cracking.

"I'm trying so hard to make this better. I'm trying so hard to make you feel safe. I'm trying, I really am. It's hard to do when I have eyes all over me constantly. I don't want you to feel scared anymore Eden."

It was hard to not be scared when her life was being snatched from beneath her, but she did not want to bring his mood down more than she already has.

"I get it Draco. I do, but you need to take some pressure off of yourself." Eden brought her hands to the top of Draco's shoulders, slowly and gently dragging them down his arms, then back up to repeat what she just did. "We can only figure things out one at a time. I have my memory back. That's a big change. Now you need to relax a bit. You deserve it after all of this. You're as much a victim in this as I am Draco. You're holding me here because you are being ordered to. You're treated me this way because you're being ordered to. None of that was your fault. I know the person you are. You were doing what was best for me at that time. Now I need you to do what's best for me right now."

Eden had forgotten how mesmerizing his eyes were to look at.

They were such a light shade of blue. It was so rare to find someone with those colour eyes.

Her head tilted to the side just a little melting into his hand as it was placed on her cheek.

"You said you have questions... What are they, we have time."

Draco took his jacket off and laid it down on the floor, motioning his hand for Eden to sit down on it and not get her clothes dirty while he sat down beside her.

Where could she even start...

Maybe with the thing that was bothering her the most.

"You said I was your soulmate. You said you could see colour because of me and not Astoria. How is that possible? How did that happen?"

Ah yes, the most difficult question to answer is the one she asked first.

He did not know where to start because Draco himself was still confused on how it was possible for her to have two soulmates.

"Do you remember when you were in year 3 and I turned your hair pink? Well after you punched me in the Great Hall for doing that to you I opened my eyes and I saw colour. At first I thought it was Astoria and that perhaps she admitted it out loud to a friend of hers that she loved me— I was only 14 so I did not fully understand the way the soulmate thing worked— but when I spoke to her it did not make sense. She didn't tell anyone that she loved me and her vision was still black and white... Later on that day I heard what you were talking about with Hermione in the library, you said you couldn't explain it, but your vision seemed more colourful than before. It was then that I realized what happened. I cant explain how it all happened because I'm not too sure myself on how it happened, but that is why right now you can see a toned down colour when you look at things. When Harry died, you lost some of your colour because you lost one of two soulmates."

Woah...

How is that even possible?

"So does that mean that Voldemort is one of my new soulmates? He is the other person who will allow me to see colour again?"

The simple answer was yes, but Draco did not want to freak the girl out, though in the back of her mind she knew the answer.

When he gave no answer Eden stood, putting a hand on her stomach and pushing on it trying to stop the aching that was spreading.

"This is so fucked..." She finally said while looking down at him. "I'm so going to kill myself."

His eyebrows furrowed and he too stood from the ground.

That was a damn big jump from talking about soulmate to talking about ending lives. He was not ready for it; took him by surprise.

"Don't say that-"

"How about when your mom died... I never saw you upset, I never saw you cut anyone off. I never saw your mood change for the worse... How did you cope with it?" Eden asked and looked over her shoulder toward him.

That was the main reason Eden thought Draco was part of some elaborate plan to take her and Harry down back at the beginning of their relationship.

Since he showed almost no changes, it was just something she assumed, but after actually getting so close to him, she realized that was not the case at all.

"I got closer to you. After she died I felt this..." What was the right word... "I felt this need to be closer to you and protect you. I felt this sudden possessiveness and it all happened so fast that I did not understand why. I started watching you at your job to make sure you were alright-"

Oh gosh! Not her job. That was a horrible horrible thing to think about. Eden could remember how embarrassed she felt when she found out Draco knew about what she did after hours.

"Then that guy showed up, he was trying to get you to do horrible things. I could read it in his mind. I just- I just couldn't let that happen so I stepped in... After that everything just kind of fell in place and I realized how happy you made me. I realized that you were the only person I cared for that only person I was willing to put my life at risk for because you're mine. You always will be."

Eden didn't doubt it.

The girl was sure she would always be his. In the end she would always find her way back to Draco.

Just look at them now.

Even though she was obliviated, she was still back here in his care, staring at his icy eyes and loving him the way she always knew she would.

"Of course I will always be yours Draco..."

Suddenly, he leaned down to be closer to Eden's face and right as he was about to connect their lips, he stopped, looking deeply into her eyes one last time before he did what he was planning.

Yeah, they definitely did not show fear anymore, now they just showed the longing for him when she looked toward his soft lips.

Her breathing sped up and got slightly louder when he got closer to her so much to the point that her chest was noticeably raising up and down at a nervous pace.

"Oh fuck it." He muttered, bringing their lips together once again after 21 months apart.

Draco never thought this day would come.

It felt like the first time all over again.

His hands went to the back of her hair, letting his fingers intertwine with it to gain a grip and her hands slowly but surely made their way around his torso, pressing their bodies against one another.

It was picking up quite quickly.

As his hand dragged against her bare skin, sliding underneath her waistband and getting closer and closer to vagina, her breath hitched and her eyes shut abruptly.

"Not here." He slid his hand out and threw her over his shoulder. "I think a bed would be more appropriate for this, not a stable."

A smile played onto her lips and her face heated up as she hung over his shoulder, hugging his torso from behind and upside down.

Once they made it to his bedroom undetected by any of the other guests in the house, he shut the door and mumbled a quick muffle charm in order to keep their antics a secret from everyone else.

"Take your clothes off." Draco muttered already throwing his shirt to the floor and then pulling his pants off and tossing them in a different direction.

Eden was not wearing a bra, so there she stood in front of the mattress, breasts out and just in a pair of panties.

He hadn't really noticed until now. Her ribs were sticking out of her... She looked so thin compared to how he remembered her. The boy did not want to make it obvious that he was looking over her, but his shocked expression caused her to resume the kissing.

His mind was instantly taken off of her weight, but rather other parts of her body... One's he had access to at this very moment.

Again, Draco's hand slid across the edge of her panties, pulling them off of her and watching as her mouth formed an o shape the moment his finger found her clit.

"I bet you missed that didn't you?" He whispered against her neck while his other hand wrapped around her torso possessively. "Tell me Eden."

"Y-Yes. Yes I did. I missed this."

Such a stuttering mess already.

He hadn't even started yet.

The moment he got her onto the bed, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and thrusted himself into her...

Boy she waited so long for something like this to happen to her. Touching herself could only work for so long and after she got caught and brought here to the Malfoy residence, she hadn't really had time to please herself. She was too nervous and anxiety ridden to do any of that.

"Fucking hell Draco..."

"Shhh." Caressing her hair, Draco leaned down and began to leave kisses trailing from her jaw down to her shoulder... Her favourite place to be kissed.

"I fucking missed you Eden." His teeth were gritted when he spoke and when he did, he did not speak loud, just a little whisper with a hint of a growl against her skin. "You're perfect."

Her nails dug into his shoulders and her back arched so far her stomach pressed against his stomach while her chest rose up and down rapidly, also finding it in her to let out a couple whimpers behind her closed lips.

Eden always did that. Challenged herself to keep quiet.

It was honestly quite attractive seeing her struggle so much.

This all felt like some kind of weird Déjà vu for the both of them, but it felt so good at the same time. They ignored all of those thoughts, just focusing on one another.

Draco kept a steady pace throughout, remembering how she liked that. Not to fast not to slow...

Her legs were shaking by the time she finished and with every moan she let out leading throughout the whole session, her volume was just getting louder and louder until she was practically screaming in pleasure, holding tightly onto the boy who was making her feel this good.

"Christ Eden... Oh god-" He groaned and let his head fall to the crook of her hot neck. "I love you."

Her heart fluttered and her stomach did more backflips which she did not know was possible after having it flip so many times that whole week.

"I mean it. I love you Eden."

Now he was looking straight into her eyes, hoping she still felt the same way...

"I love you too Draco."


	59. Chapter 59

The night before tired the girl out and anything anyone said to her was going in one ear and out the other.

Draco and Eden stood in the big room inside of the castle they both knew all to well while Voldemort analyzed her from his throne.

"Eden Abella. Step forward."

Eden snapped back into the moment as her heart was pounding behind her chest. It was ringing out in her ears with every pump.

This was a horrible feeling. The out of body feeling, like she was watching herself from a third person perspective.

"Eden. Will I need to come over there and grab you myself..."

She blocked the Lord out and stared at him blankly.

What was she to do now? The girl was frozen in her place.

Now that she remembered everything he did to Colin... To her friends. What was stopping him from doing those horrible things to her.

"Go forward." Draco's voice came in stern and harsh, just like it was when she was first brought to his home. "Abella walk."

Eden almost fell forward when his hands collided with her back, but she caught herself before she could.

"There we go... Come forward now. I would like to see how you're doing." The Dark Lord told her, standing from his seat and walking down the two or so steps in front of him.

I could strangle that stupid man to death. Fucking ugly piece of-

Her thoughts were interrupted when Voldemort reached his hand out far enough to grab her wrist and pull her closer to him.

"Ah look at you. A little messy today don't you think? Hair not done clothing all wrinkled. I would have expected you to come better looking. What a shame that is... Truly."

Eden almost forgot how scratchy and annoying his voice was. It had been a hot minute since she'd last seen him.

"You're tired too. Why is that? Oh who am I kidding." A smile played onto his lips, pulling the edges far enough back that she could see his teeth. "You're still young. You have the ability to stay up all night..."

Was this his attempt at making small talk? Because if it was it was not working. It would never work. Eden would despise him until the day she died.

"Are you going to be difficult or easy today? Will you be admitting the truth? That we're soulmates-"

"Not in a million years."

Her eyes narrowed toward Draco who sighed and put a hand on his forehead after hearing the way she just spoke to the Dark Lord.

So much attitude and disrespect, Draco was surprised that Voldemort had not slit her throat yet, though if he even tried Malfoy would not hesitate to cut his first.

"Can you believe this girl Draco?" Voldemort looked toward the boy as well.

Now it was Draco's turn to have his ass... "She's had a bad temper recently. Not sure what has gotten into her. I've done everything you have asked of me-"

"Oh no, I do not doubt that you have not followed my orders. You are one of my most loyal fighters. You've stuck by me through all of this. You and your father... But I think another home would be best for her. She's clearly not developed anything but an attitude while with you. Perhaps with the Pucey's? I remember Adrian telling me he did not like her..."

Another home.

No fucking way.

Not on my bloody watch.

Eden cleared her through catching the attention of both the men in the room and started in a kinder, sweet voice. The kind of voice she used when she pitied old people. "My Lord... I'm terribly sorry for the way I have been acting today. Please excuse me, it's just that I have not been feeling so well and I have not eaten anything today. I get a little bit of a temper when I'm hungry."

"Hungry hmm? I suppose that would make sense wouldn't it? When you get home, get some food in the girl. When she admits she's my soulmate I'd like her to not be a stick."

That man was lucky she was more angry than shocked because if that were the case her mouth would have dropped right down to the floor.

Instead of reacting that way, Eden looked down toward her feet and awaited Draco's response.

"Of course my Lord. I'll get her something to eat as soon as we go back. I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize boy. She must be a handful, I could only imagine what getting her to do something is like. I'll give you credit Malfoy."

One more string.

That was what was holding Eden together. If Vodemort so much as plucked it one more time she would snap.

"Alright, I won't keep you two long. I'll want to see her soon. This time on her own. Of course you can wait outside and..."

Eden's knees almost gave out at the request. The last time they were alone together... Well she could remember what was going to happen had Draco not stepped in.

"I won't let you down next time my Lord. Again I am terribly sorry..."

And just like that Draco grabbed her by her arm tightly and brought her outside of the room. They apparated away almost instantly.

As her feet hit the ground, Eden almost fell over onto the Malfoy Manor floor in the foyer; number 1, from how disoriented the apparition made her and number 2, because of what Voldemort just requested for the next time they met.

"Okay relax. We're going to figure something out Eden. We always do. I'll do something to stop this. I'm not going to leave you in that room with him. I promise you."

Draco watched her put a hand on her sternum and walk over to a wall in an attempt to have something to put her body weight onto.

Two seconds later Pansy came walking into the room holding her baby in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.

"What's happening here? What did you do to her Draco?!"

"What?! It wasn't me Pansy! I didn't do anything to her!"

The girl totally ignored him and walked to her friend. "Hey... What happened? Tell me what's wrong."

Eden felt like she were choking. She couldn't speak, couldn't breathe, couldn't move. She would fall over if she didn't regain control of herself in the next minute.

"I can't... I cant breathe."

Immediately after those words left her mouth Draco's face fell serious and he rushed over to her, pulling her into his chest.

"You can breathe Eden... Come on. Breathe."

The feeling was something along the lines of holding her breath, yet she was in fact breathing and there was nothing she could do in the moment to stop the shortness of breath.

"I-I need water."

Draco looked toward Pansy desperately, but she was already on it, putting her glass of wine down on the counter and placing her baby in her crib before returning.

"Why can't you breathe? What's happening?"

"He's going to touch me. H-He's going to do something to me. Something horrible. I can't go there again... I cant go there. I won't go there. I'd die before I went back there Draco. I'm not going back."

"Okay. Okay we won't go back... Here." He ripped the water out of Pansy's hands and placed it into Eden's.

Always, from the moment she got here, Eden had anxiety. But it had never been so bad like this before, to the point where she couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't talk properly. Any minute now and she was sure she would pass out from the stress.

All Pansy and Draco could do was watch the poor girl until she was calm enough to at least make it to the couch and take a seat.

"Listen Eden..." His hand caressed her back— up and down just as he would do to her hair— and caught her gaze. "We're not going back there. I won't let him so much as get near you. You'll be okay."

"No I won't because this is going to be life until the day I die-" The girl took a sharp inhale and weakly wrapped her arms around Draco. "I can't do this anymore. I seriously c-can't."

"And you won't Eden. I won't let anything happen to you. Ever. I promise."

Back to the promises huh?

The promises he swore he could keep but had no control over... Either way it made her feel better. Knowing he cared enough to promise her things as outrageous as going against his Lord...

It reminded her how much he actually cared for her... And how much he would sacrifice to give her everything she ever wanted.

"We need to run away. We must go. W-We must find some place far from here. Some place so secret no one will ever find us."

That was always the plan.

Always.

They talked about it during the war, they talked about it now, it was definitely going to happen.

"We will. Just us. We'll be safe, alone. I'll never let anything or anyone hurt you. But for right now I need you to calm down. You will feel better if you do." Draco smiled softly making catching her off guard and ultimately taking her mind off of the current issue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later on that night, Eden laid staring up at the ceiling of Draco's room...

It was nothing like the room she used to stay in.

Much bigger in size.

Yes.

But it just felt so much more like home in his room compared to her's... Perhaps it was because all the experiences she had in that room were bad, or maybe it was because when she was here in Draco's room, he was able to be right next to her.

His presence always just put her in a better mood and especially now with everything that was going on, having him as something to look forward to after this was all over was a relief...

"Draco... Are you awake?"

Eden turned onto her side, looking at the boys closed eyes...

Unlikely.

She answered for herself in her head and turned back to the look up at the ceiling. Unlike her's it was painted red and looked as if it were in a dome shape.

It went super high too.

This was not a regular size room.

But it was also Draco Malfoy's room. The boy was rich, so what did Eden really expect?

"I'm awake." His deep, raspy and sleepy voice made her jump.

The room was completely dark aside from the light of the moon shining in through the window, but between all of that she could still see his icy eyes meet her own.

A small smile pulled at the corners of her straight lips which made a small smile appear on his lips too...

What could he say, her smile was extremely contagious.

Anyone who knew her could say the same thing.

"Do you remember what we talked about? I think it was the night I left for Snape's house... We were laying in bed and you told me we should run away to somewhere isolated like an island. We could have a baby girl?" 

As is Draco could ever forget.

"Well after this is all done I want to do that. I want to be alone with you. I want to have a life... Do you still think you want to do that with me?" A pit was forming in her stomach when she asked the question.

Why?

Because being rejected would feel so embarrassing and awful?

No. That's wasn't right.

He told her just earlier that he wanted to, but that was probably just to calm her down from her panicked state...

Draco's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed toward her's, looking as if what she just asked him the was craziest question on this earth. "Is that even a question? Of course I want to do that with you. I've had a place in mind for months now. I think I've got a picture of it somewhere here... Hold on."

The way he got so excited made Eden's heart flutter and a rush of joy fell over her which instantly washed away any feelings of anxiety she felt just moments before the boy answered her.

"Look, it's this island. I found it when you were hiding with Florence. I thought it was nice. It has a beach and everything. The moment I saw it I knew it had to be an option."

In his left hand was a picture of the island and in his right was a picture of the small beach at the edge of the water.

Tree's covered the whole island and there was a abandoned and extremely old house, but it was so destroyed that it was not yet liveable. A path led down to the sand and it overlooked the ocean with a small dock extending a few metres into the ocean right before it got extremely deep.

His eyes held such worry while he waited for her response, though by the way she looked at the pictures in his hands, he really had nothing to worry about.

"I think it's perfect Draco. You could not have found a better place for us to spend our live together."

Draco grabbed her cheek and leaned down kissing her lips softly and quickly. "I love you... Now get some rest. You need it. You're tired."

"I love you too."


	60. Chapter 60

For a week straight, the routine stayed the same.

Eden would wake up, eat breakfast, go for an early morning walk with Tissy, and then come back inside and lay in bed all day while staring at the window.

Spring, where they lived, was always horrible. Rain almost every single day, darkness from the clouds covering the sun.

It was awful yet so beautiful at the same time.

The leaves on the trees were beginning to grow back and flowers were blooming in the fields and gardens surrounding the houses area.

Almost every morning, Eden made it her duty to go look at a few red roses growing outside of the home. Every day they looked more colourful and full.

After being cooped up all winter, this really gave Eden a sense of excitement. Even the air was smelling fresher; no longer that cold feeling whenever she breathed in.

Draco would always immediately follow her out of the house after not feeling her in his arms.

It was a natural reaction of his.

Not feeling her there scared him, he wanted to be near her; close enough to her that he could watch her at all times.

It was not some sort of jealousy thing.

For all he cared Eden could be put in a room with the hottest men in the whole world because the boy knew she would always come back to him and him only.

So it was more of a him thing. It put his mind at bay and made him calmer, plus she was fascinating to watch.

On this particular morning, as Draco walked out of the house, Eden reached down to a single rose, feeling it's petals and sliding her way down to the stem.

It was like the girl forgot that roses did indeed have thorns sticking out of them and quickly she pulled her fingers away, looking at the small cut that was bleeding out on her index finger.

Two hands were placed on her upper arms and a head was rested upon her right shoulder.

"It appears that you have hurt yourself Eden... Have you forgotten that roses can do that?" Draco asked and squeezed her shoulders ever so gently.

Eden smiled and stared at the blood bubble forming in front of her. "I supposed I have. I haven't seen roses in quite some time..."

The boy grabbed her wrist and brought her finger to his mouth, suddenly sucking on her finger out of nowhere.

Her body whipped around as she stared at him confused as ever.

What was he doing?

"It restricts blood flow. Also cleans the wound." Draco explained after seeing her clearly confused reaction.

"Why could you not have just- just like... Done it with your wand?"

"Because now you're all nervous and your face is turning red. You thought it was hot didn't you?"

It was true, Eden's face was heating up and she was so nervous that she could not get her words out of her mouth properly, but still she denied it.

"No you're lying."

"Lying? I never lie-"

The girl gave him a stern look, burning her eyes into his and pulling her hand back toward her.

"Stop looking at me like that, you're the worst liar of them all."

"Oh really?" Eden asked challengingly and stepped back, hitting the porches small brick platform with her back while Draco took a few steps closer until he had his arms on either side of her torso trapping her in.

"Really..."

She went silent staring at him, his lips, his messy hair, his sleepy eyes. It was only 7 am after all.

The sun was just coming up making the sky a dark purplish blue colour while the clouds looked almost as if they were pink.

"You can't kiss me out here. If someone comes-"

"I don't give a fuck if someone comes." Draco abruptly cut Eden off, moving his hand to her throat and pulling her forward until their lips connected.

Now that was a damn surprise.

The girl nearly fell over from how quickly he pulled her in, but thankfully she did not, that would have been embarrassing.

Utterly embarrassing...

"Jesus Draco."

Both heads turned to the left where Draco's father was just turning around the corner of the house.

"I'd say I'm surprised, but truly I am not. Restraint has never really been your strong suite. Hello Abella. It has been requested I take you to a new home-"

Eden's face dropped. "What?"

"The Dark Lord has requested you be moved. He thinks Draco is doing a terrible job, your attitude has been awful and you're just not progressing the way he would like. He thinks you'd do better at a more disciplined household." Lucius explained.

The way he said it, it was so carefree.

Of course that would be the case, it was not his life or relationship being threatened here.

"I think it best if you cooperate like you're supposed to. It would be a shame if the Dark Lord suddenly found out about this little... Thing happening between the two of you don't you think."

They're just empty threats Eden... Lucius would not do that to his own son...

Right?

Wrong.

The man was ruthless, he would do whatever he wanted if it meant he got on the good side of Voldemort whether that mean he needed to kill a baby or kill himself.

Exposing his own son— his own blood— would not be a problem for him.

Draco's hand slid off from around her throat and and very protectively, he stepped in front of her while wrapping a hand around her waist and pulling her closer; eyes locking with his fathers as he said, "If you even think of laying one finger on her I swear to god father... I'll kill you."

"Of course. What else was I expecting when you've been here shagging your prisoner. You think you're in love Draco? You think you know everything? You DON'T! This girl is not the girl you love-"

"Oh shut up! As if you would know the first thing about who I love! YOU HAVE NOT EVEN BEEN IN MY LIFE FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS! You have no room to speak! Now you can go back to Voldemort and tell him he's not going to get her. He's not going to send her anywhere, not if I'm still alive-"

"Well then we'll have to do something about that right? What does that mark on your arm mean. Remember who you are LOYAL to!" Lucius shouted as he began to pull his wand out of his pocket.

The younger Malfoy followed his fathers moves, copying the placement of his hand on the wand and pointing it toward his father.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!"

Eden wished she had her magic, she wished she could do something...

Anything...

But she did not and she probably never would again.

Voldemort was the one who stripped all of her magic meaning he still had it. If she ran away she would never get it back, but she would rather have no magic than be the mother to that vile mans children.

Lucius' hand rose but before he could mutter the two words that would send a green spark flying out of his wand, a spell hit him.

The same spell he was going to cast...

The same one he was going to use to kill Draco.

"D-Draco-" Eden looked up toward him with wide eyes and a open mouth, shocked by what the boy just did for her.

Killing his own father, the only family he had left...

He did that for her, to keep her safe.

The wand fell out of his hand and dropped down onto the floor and soon after Draco did the same. His eyes fluttered before he fell to his knee's, putting his fingers through his hair and looking at his fathers body.

"Fuck..."

Eden got to her knee's with him, grabbing his hands and pulled them out from his hair so that he wouldn't hurt himself by ripping it out of his head.

Confusion struck the girl.

Draco was not crying.

He was not angry.

He wasn't even happy.

He was unreadable.

There was no way for her to tell how he felt about what he did so she had no way of actually comforting him.

"How are we going to dispose of the body?" A smirk played onto his lips as his eyes met Eden's.

Literally what?

The girl would have thought he would have a more upset reaction. It was his father that he just killed after all, but also taking into consideration that Lucius had been a completely awful father to Draco for most of his life, this did not come as such of a shock.

With the new knowledge that Draco did not care, a smirk formed onto her lips too. "In whatever way you'd like."

"I think leaving him here will be fine. When he turns to dust I want people to walk all over him. So where were we?" He leaned in closer to her.

Eden was amazed at the way Draco could just brush the death of his father off his shoulders so easily, but there they found themselves, kissing right in front of Lucius' dead body.

Some could have perceived this as an act of disrespect, but that's what they were intending, at least Draco was.

Soon the girl was lifted off of her feet and she found herself back in the room she spent most of her days.

"Y-You're just going to leave his body on the lawn?" Eden asked as Draco slammed the door of his room and pushed her against it while her legs were still wrapped around his torso.

"Of course I am. I would much rather be entertaining myself with you than worry about Lucius."

"But- But what if someone like... I don't know see's him."

Draco put a hand over her mouth and pushed some of her hair back with his other hand. "Stop speaking and take your clothes off okay?" His eyebrows rose.

Eden nodded her head, watching as his eyes trailed down her body until he moved his hips back— which were the only thing holding her up— and took his hand off of her mouth.

She started at her shirt, throwing it off to the side and then took off her jeans, also throwing them to the side, then stood there in her underwear awaiting Draco, who finished just after she did.

"Bed or shower."

Bed seemed comfortable...

But shower seemed so much more kinky...

The decision was hard.

Slowly, Eden walked to the door of the bathroom, turning her head and looking at him as he stared at her bottom. "Are you coming or not?"

As he followed in her tracks he spoke up. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a fantastic bum."

"Yeah. You have." She smiled and turned around completely, locking their lips once again.

Draco suddenly turned her around, pushing her against the edge of the counter and bunched her hair up into his hand, forcing her to look at him through the mirror.

"You look ravishing in this position Eden..."

Her cheeks warmed and her eyes fell away from his gaze when he suddenly pulled her underwear to the side and thrusted into her.

His right hand, which he was not using to hold Eden's hair, was placed on her back as a way to make her arch her form.

"O-Oh god-"

The girls knee's almost gave out and both of her hands clamped down onto the edge of the counter, squeezing it tightly.

He was going slow, making sure to savour every moment of this.

Every glance she gave him.

Every time she tried to take control.

Every time she moaned his name.

Her moans were so enticing.

The way she looked at him through the mirror showed such desperation. It was as if he were to stop, she would go crazy.

"Draco!" Eden's hand shot to her mouth to muffle the rest of her mumbled sighs of pleasure, but Draco would not let that happen for long.

"Take your hand off. I- I want to hear your voice.". Gosh even she had him stumbling over his words...

In what world did that happen?

Apparently this one.

When Eden didn't listen to his request, Draco grabbed her wrist and forced it down onto the counter beside her.

"I-I can't. Draco I- Draco I can't!" Eden stuttered looking at herself in the mirror. She watched as he slid his hand to her throat holding it up so she no longer had any choice in whether she were looking into the mirror or not.

"Shhh. I know..."

Did he really though..?

Like really..?

Probably not, but Eden's mind was elsewhere. She could barely even focus on the words leaving his mouth.

"What the FUCK- Why?!" She shouted at him as he pulled out of her with no reasoning whatsoever.

"I said the shower did I not. Unless you'd rather be bent over the counter while you take it from behind for the next hour, though I would think that to be uncomfortable-"

God! Did that even really matter right now?!

Unamused, she stared at him and crossed her hands over her chest, which was still covered by her white bra.

"Stop being a tease Malfoy!" She stepped into the shower and motioned her hand for him to come in with her. "Let's get a move on shall we?"

Draco smirked and stepped into the shower with her, turning on the hot water and completely soaking the two as they continued from where they left off.

Somehow the shower only made their moans louder...

"Let me do s-something Draco. I want to do something for you." She told him while looking over her shoulder.

At that moment, one of his arms were wrapped around her torso while the other was wrapped around her neck, holding her close and up against his warm body.

Eden had came already, Draco too, yet she wanted to do more for him.

Deep down she had this feeling that if she didn't do it now she wouldn't do it at all... Ever.

It was hard to explain, but whenever she thought about it too hard a pit started forming and she got a headache.

"What do you want to do for me? Hmm?" He hummed into the back of her neck and planted a single, very soft kiss on her shoulder which sent a chill running up and down her spine.

Her eyes opened slightly and her eyebrows rose in the most mischievous way ever.

"You'll see..."

Slowly but surely, Eden pushed his arms off of her, then got onto her knee's right in front of him.

"Eden..."

"You want me to stop?" She asked looking up at his face.

Truth was he didn't want her to stop, but he'd always been the one to do this kind of thing. He always made it about the girl, especially with Eden...

Yeah sure he'd been blown before, but by someone he actually liked, never.

"No... No I don't want you to stop. Continue."

The moment her lips wrapped around his dick his mouth dropped open and a very faint groan echoed throughout the shower.

He wrapped his arm over his eyes and tilted his head back, allowing her to do whatever she wanted with him.

By the way she was sucking him, he could only assume she'd done this before unless she was just an extremely fast learner...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eden was fast asleep after that.

She deserved it, after how much Draco worked her so early in the morning.

It was then that he remembered his fathers body was now fully decomposed into the ground, being forgotten as if he were a piece of trash being burned in a fire.

How odd it was.

It was so easy to kill someone and get away with it. For all Voldemort knew, Lucius could have died at the hands of a crazed man or an animal, yet he would never truly know.

The Lord would believe anything that came out of Draco's mouth, though it would not be the truth.

But that was not what he planned.

No.

He had other plans in mind.

This situation... It was too stressful on Eden. It was too much for someone of her age to deal with. She made herself seem fine, like she was getting better, but Draco knew her.

Anyone who looked at her could tell she was still hurting. She was still upset and she still felt trapped.

No matter what the boy did for her, she would always feel that way because it was true.

Sure, she was with Draco then, but when the Dark Lord gets what he wants they'll likely never see each other again.

Draco's eyes trailed down to the girl that laid on his chest peacefully asleep.

Every so often her head would nuzzle into the warmth he gave her, or she would squeeze his torso tighter for more security.

"I'm going to save you Eden. I don't care what I have to do. I'll keep you safe. You'll be happy again soon. I promise..."


	61. Chapter 61

A few days after Voldemort found out the 'tragic' news of Draco's fathers passing, he demanded there be a funeral despite there being no body.

The fact that they did not know the first place to search also played at key part in that.

So while Draco was gone, Tissy and Pansy helped Eden out, they cooked, walked, read, did a bunch of girly thing that they could not really do with Draco around.

For once Eden actually saw a genuine smile on the house elves face.

The empty casket was buried somewhere near Voldemort's castle. A field where only the most elite and loyal Death Eaters were buried. It was hidden from most people.

Draco told her everything when he got home. They sat in the living room discussing how the Dark Lord had decided to push Eden moving to another household to a few months later, which they were both so thankful for.

"Hey," The girl placed her hand on his hand, squeezing it and releasing it to grab his attention. "You seem off. Did something happen? You can tell me."

He snapped back into reality, his eyes leaving their stare on the fire cracking in the fireplace. "I'm fine... You know, I never thought I would get you back. I don't know, I knew I was going to be in your life one way or another, but I never thought I would get you back like this. I thought for sure when you remembered, Voldemort would be dead. I thought 'hey, maybe we can be happy, be in public, raise a good family in a good home', but that is not the case at all. I just wish I could do more for you. I want you to be happy, safe, loved..."

So that was what this was all about?

"We can still be happy with Voldemort in charge. Remember what we spoke about? That island, our daughter-"

"Yeah, but you will never truly be happy because everyone you love is gone. It must hurt you. Imagine, if we run, we'd need to be alone for the rest of our lives or at least until the Dark Lord was dead. No one would be able to see us. We couldn't leave to have a night out on the town, or see a movie, or even just go for a simple walk. No, we'd be stuck on that island forever." Draco explained, holding his head in his hand. "But we can't run now. Not yet..."

Truth was, he did not think he would return home after tonight to be able to do all these things with her.

"Why not now? We could do it whenever we want-"

"No Eden. We can't yet. It'll be too soon, we would need to plan a fake death or something. That would keep Voldemort's nerves at bay until we could get some charms on the islands. Ones that will keep people from locating us and apparating to us. The moment he knows we're gone, he'll come for you, kill me. We need time to plan. This isn't something we can just do overnight."

It was though.

It was so easy to do. Charms did not even take that long.

Why is Draco making excuses? Something is wrong here. Seriously wrong.

Eden couldn't place it, but whatever it was was bothering him deeply.

The only thing she could do was sit and change the subject to something he would rather speak about.

Later on that night, Eden found out why he was acting the way he was at the fireplace.

She found out and it broke her heart.

The girl woke to the feeling of an empty bed beside her.

Still in a sleepy state, she tried to reach out and feel for Draco, but instead her hand collided with a sheet of paper rather than the person she was hoping to find.

Immediately she sat up and snatched the paper into her hold. Her body woke up really quick.

"No no..."

Déjà vu.

Tears were at the edges of her eyes when it all clicked inside of her brain.

This was what she did to Draco the night she tried to leave, but now the roles were reversed and Draco was the one who fled.

Dear Eden,

If you're reading this I have already left and there is no way you can stop me.   
I plan on killing Voldemort tonight. I plan on taking him down by myself. You and I have dealt with this for too long and I've been a coward. If I really did care as much as I say I do I would have done something about this sooner.  
I know you are unable to stop me from executing this plan and you may hate me forever if I do not return, but I need you to know that you are the only important person in my life and you always will be. If I did not do this now I would have done it another time in the near future anyway.  
I wish I could have been the person you deserve, but I simply could not.  
The point of this letter is not to make you feel bad. This is not your fault. This is on me. Whatever happens will happen, but at the end of the day the only thing I would like you to know is that I love you more than words can describe and actions can demonstrate.  
Like you say, this is not a goodbye. It is never a goodbye with us. If anything this is more of a see you soon.  
I will return. I do not want you to freak out.  
I love you.

\- Draco

"Fucking CHRIST!" Eden shouted loudly and chucked the bedsheets off of her.

There was no way he just played her game on HER.

Her feet took control, running as fast as she could to Pansy's temporary room and her hands were shaking as she fumed with anger.

"PANSY!" She bursted into the room without knocking.

This was too urgent to worry about using her manners. Pansy would understand once the girl had the chance to explain.

"Eden? Jesus it's like 3 in the morning what is the matter with you?!"

Eden placed the letter down onto her bed and sat on the edge, her leg bouncing and her hands now balling in and out of fists. Every time her fingers closed in, her nails dug deeper into her palm.

"You have to take me there Pansy. I have no magic. It's been stripped. Please Pansy. Please this is all I'll ever ask of you. Just take me to the castle."

Pansy placed a hand on her eye, rubbing it out of stress and looked up at the ceiling as if it were about to give her guidance or an answer. "Lord forgive me... Come on. I'll take you."

"W-Wait- Wait what about Eden?"

"Tissy watches my baby at night. She'll be fine if I'm gone for a little bit-"

"No Pansy I want you to come back here as soon as we get there. It's dangerous for you. You have a daughter that needs you alive. If anything goes wrong I'd like to die knowing you're safe."

That was the right thing to do right?

Right?

"Fuck no. I'm staying with you. I don't care what you say. At least until I know you're with Draco. I'll leave after that-"

CRACK!

Tissy appeared in front of the two girls bringing them to a sudden halt in the dark hallway.

"Master says Tissy is to make sure Eden don't leave the manor."

Master says this, master says that... Master can shove all that up his ass.

Pansy suddenly grabbed Eden's wrist and whipped them out of there and into an empty corridor. 

One that was in the cold, dark castle.

One glance at the place and anyone could tell that Draco had just passed through.

The paintings that hung on the walls were destroyed into pieces on the floor, tables that lined the walls were broken along with glass from the windows scattered all along to floor. Also not to mention the multiple dead bodies of Death Eaters who were supposed to be guarding the halls slowly decomposing into the ground of which they once stood.

A loud crash and a shake of the floor pointed the two girls in the direction of battle.

The direction where Draco was sure to be.

Eden felt like she was no longer in control of her body. It started at the house, but it felt so much worse now.

All of this running, all of the shaky breaths and tears blurring her vision because of how fearful she was that Draco was going to get himself hurt or killed. It was not even unlikely in a situation like this one.

The Dark Lord was powerful no matter what anyone said or believed.

He could wipe out an entire nation if he really wanted to and now that he had some time after the war to rest, he was sure to be more powerful than Eden could remember.

Gradually the sentences that were leaving Voldemort's mouth came into the girls hearing range.

"YOU'RE A TRAITOR! A BLOODY TRAITOR. YOU MAKE THE MALFOY NAME LOOK LIKE A JOKE DRACO! YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF NOTHI-"

Another shake of the floor.

That meant Draco cast another spell at him.

"I'M NO TRAITOR. I WAS NEVER ON YOUR SIDE!"

"YOU'RE A FUCKING IDIOT IF YOU THINK SOMEONE LIKE EDEN IS ACTUALLY IN LOVE WITH YOU! THE GIRL IS CLEARLY JUST DOING IT IN AN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE-"

Draco could be heard laughing in amusement. "YOU KNOW NOTHING! NOTHING! IF YOU KNEW WHAT WE'VE DONE, WHAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH, YOU WOULD NOT BE SITTING HERE TELLING ME I'M THE IDIOT TOM. YOU SAY YOU'RE THE MOST POWERFUL WIZARD?! WELL THEN WHY COULD YOU NOT FIGURE OUT I'VE BEEN ON HER SIDE THIS ENTIRE TIME!"

Eden reached the door of the room she was always brought to when she came to the castle and peeped her head into it just enough to catch what was happening, but not enough to distract Draco.

"You have been on the side of HARRY POTTER?!"

"I don't give a flying fuck about him, or anyone else, that includes you! I'll do whatever is best for Eden... Always! And right now, you're in her fucking way!"

Another blast just dodged by Draco.

The spark hit the wall suddenly making it crumble and break down until Eden could see a pile of concrete and dust building up on the floor.

"I'm not in her way you STUPID BOY! I'M TAKING WHAT IS MINE-"

"SHE! IS NOT! YOURS!" With every word that Draco said through his gritted teeth came another green flash from the tip of his wand. "SHE WAS NEVER YOURS! EVER!"

"YOU WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING DRACO? WHEN I KILL YOU I'LL TAKE HER AND USE HER AS MUCH AS I NEED UNITL I GET WHAT I WANT. A FAMILY. A SOULMATE. AN OBEDIENT WIFE. SHE WILL DO WHATEVER I SAY BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT BE HERE TO SAVE HER OR PROTECT HER. SHE IS POWERLESS. USELESS-"

As both of them cast the green spell, the two sparks hit in the middle sending a bright flash throughout the whole room. It was bright enough to light up the hallway the girls stood in.

"We'll see about that. I think you have forgotten Tom, but I AM more powerful than you. You've told me yourself. I am the most skilled fighter there is. So you can try and kill me. But it is YOU who will end up looking like the idiot after I walk all over your DEAD BODY!"

Voldemort snarled.

Draco sounded like Harry when he said that... When he called him Tom..

It angered him to the point where he pressed his fingers harder into his wand to try and overpower the boy he was fighting, but the point where the sparks hit did not move any closer to Draco.

In fact, as Draco stepped forward, the sparks moved closer to the man he was fighting rather than himself.

With every step Draco could feel the man's confidence deteriorate until the sparks were so close that Voldemort could feel the burning they gave off. It almost made him pull his hand back, but had he done that he would have ended up dead so he let the magic burn into his hand so badly to where his flesh was smoking.

"Would you look at that... I have underestimated you..." He smiled the ugly smile he always gave with his sharp looking grey teeth.

Out of no where, the sparks stopped.

"EDEN!" Pansy gripped her shoulder and pulled her back behind the large door, into her arms roughly.

Eden was confused, but Pansy knew exactly why the sparks had stopped. She knew what was about to happen next.

BANG!

The loudest and most scary explosion of magic rang out from inside of the room. The shockwave was so large that the door swung open, sending it flying back into the wall and breaking it off of the hinges.

Right at that moment, all of the windows exploded. 

Every single one.

Glass went flying everywhere after that so Eden shut her eyes and covered her face while Pansy did the same thing, sitting right behind her.

The explosion was so loud it caused a ringing in Eden's ears, but that did not stop her.

Once she realized the glass had all fallen to the floor and it was safe enough to get up without getting anything launched into her, she shot up and ran to Draco.

Surely this meant he won.

With the spell being so close to Voldemort. Draco was the one who won... Right? That would make sense.

But why was the pit in her stomach not gone yet? 

Why was her head still pounding thinking about Draco?

Why did she feel like something was wrong?

Her eyes locked on the boy as soon as the dust was clear enough to see him. He laid on the floor, hands by his sides and wand broken in half on his left.

Then, she turned her head toward Voldemort.

Dead.

Voldemort was dead, slowly decaying as she could tell from the robes slowly flattening out onto the ground.

"Draco! Draco you did it... He's gone. Voldemort is dead!" The girl ran over and fell to her knee's beside him. Her smile was from ear to ear seeing as this was all good news. She was finally free and even without her magic, she still felt happier than ever.

But all of that died off and the smile faded from her face.

"Draco?"

"Y-You say I did it? I-I've k-killed him?" Draco stuttered weakly, finding the strength to grab her hand ever so lightly.

"Draco... Draco what's wrong?"

"The explosion. I-It hit me."

Eden's world froze.

Heart stopped.

Face dropping.

"What- What are you telling me Draco?"

The tears just started pouring from her eyes.

She just let them.

She knew exactly what he was telling her, but she just couldn't put it together in her head. She tried to make sense of it, but it always ended up with a dead end because the truth of it was scary.

"Eden... I think this is goodbye."

Her lip quivered and as she squeezed is hand, she grabbed the other.

"No- No Draco. Don't say that. It's never goodbye with us remember? You're going to be alright. You're going to be fine."

Draco reached up with the last remaining energy his body could muster and put a hand on her cheek, slowly wiping her tears from her face as her hand rested on top of his.

It already felt so cold...

"I love you."

His final breath.

His final words.

His hand went completely limp and fell from her face down onto the cold floor...

The floor he just died on.

"No..."

This couldn't be happening.

"Draco?"

No answer. Not even a flinch.

His chest was no longer moving up and down.

His eyes were closed...

She could no longer look into those beautiful blue icy eyes she always adored.

"Draco? Please... Please Draco?!"

Silence took over.

Eden waited for any movement.

Anything from him.

But instead all she saw before her eyes was his skin turn pale and his lips lose colour.

"NO!"

Sharply, she inhaled and fell over his body, holding it before it was gone for good.

"I love you too..."

She didn't get to say it back.

He told her he loved her and she did not even get to say it back.

The girl buried her head into the crook of his neck and shut her eyes.

Her screams and cries were muffled between the fabric of his clothes.

Everything was gone now.

Harry, Hermione, Fred, Ginny... All dead.

She no longer had a home to go back to.

No more family.

No more life.

No more magic.

No more happiness.

No more Draco.

What was a world without him in it?

The answer was simple, one that was not worth living on anymore...

Shakily, Eden reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out the dagger she knew he kept in there.

There was nothing without him here with her. There was no one else she could possibly care about as much as him. There was no one else she could have loved as much as him. Never in a million years.

Pansy stood at the door— a hand on the frame— and locked eyes with Eden who clutched the handle of the sharp weapon.

Their eyes could not leave one another's and Eden was sure Pansy would rush in to come and stop her from what she was doing...

But she did not do that.

She did not do anything close to that actually.

Pansy smiled softly at her friend one last time.

She knew if she stopped Eden, she would be angry and sad. This world no longer had any meaning to the girl.

The most heartbreaking smile fell from her lips, then Pansy turned her head and apparated out of the castle, allowing Eden to continue on with what she was planning to do to herself.

"Forgive me..."

The dagger pierced straight through the hoodie, straight past her skin and stabbed right into her heart.

The scream she let out was incredibly loud... But there was no one there to hear it.

Absolutely no one.

Everything began to go out quickly.

Her sight first, then her hearing straight after.

Her chest tightened up and she lost all feeling of her lungs. No longer breathing.

And then, her thoughts became insanely hazy and her eyes shut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eden gasped for air, holding her hand to her heart, but feeling nothing.

No dagger, not even a wound or scar...

Her hearing came back before her eyesight, but the faint sounds of the oceans waves could be heard in the distance of wherever she was.

When she finally opened her eyes she realized...

The island.

This was the island Draco showed her in the pictures.

She felt no feelings of stress, no anger, no sadness... Nothing but a calm and relaxed feeling, something of which one would feel when they knew they were safe from all danger and all of their burdens were lifted off of her shoulders.

Confusion was not even a thought in her head at that moment. She just stared out at the open sea, looking at how the sun was setting behind the horizon.

"Eden?"

Her eyes shot to grass beside where she sat with her hands behind her back and a smile formed on her face.

Eden could finally see his blue eyes in full colour again.

"I told you it wasn't a goodbye Draco. It's never a goodbye with us."

THE END


End file.
